Rubies and Emeralds
by Kino no Tabibito
Summary: Natsuki's journey towards becoming a knight. Multiple pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, Kino here. I'm back again after a gods only know how long hiatus. Thanks to everyone who have been reading and reviewing Rubies and Emeralds. This is the new and improved first chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

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Sunshine flooded the stoned halls of the large castle. The long summer days lit a sense of warmth and cheer that were oftentimes absent during the rest of the year.

"Young mistress! Where are you? Young mistress Kuga!"

Tucked safely in the niche of her favourite hiding spot, the 6-year-old Natsuki allowed herself a smug grin. Though thoroughly convinced that no one would ever be able to find her, the youngster cocked her ear and listened carefully. The coast was clear and she and the large honey-glazed almond cake she had liberated from the kitchens were safe. She dug into it gleefully, disregarding the table manners that her parents had tried so hard to drum into her. Crumbs and nut shards flew left and right as the thief enjoyed the fruits of her labours.

A faint smile touched the lips of her silent watcher. Knowing that Natsuki would not and could not be distracted from her stolen meal, he headed towards her hide-out, silent as a cat stalking its prey.

"Aargh!"

"Gotcha me little darlin'!"

Natsuki yelped and struggled against the hand that had so rudely plucked her from her snack. Kai Kuga smirked down at her from his superior height and tossed his squirming sister over his shoulder. He chuckled as she hurled angry threats at his back. Aiming a mildly disgusted glance at the remains of Natsuki's hidden feast in the small alcove, he headed off towards the Main Hall, ignoring the increasingly elaborate death threats coming from Natsuki.

"Put me down. I demand to be put down right this instant! I'm going to kick you really hard if you don't." Natsuki grunted in pain as she was plopped suddenly down upon the hard ground of the floor. Scrabbling to all fours, she surveyed her surroundings and gulped as she stared into the stern eyes of her mother.

"Well well well, look who's decided to grace us with her presence."

Saeko Kuga's infamous Kuga Death Glad trapped Natsuki within its grasp, causing the young girl to gulp nervously. Natsuki squirmed under the fire of her mother's glare, fully aware of how deeply in trouble she was. Even at the tender age of 6 she knew that there was no choice but to own up to her own mischief. Sending out a silent prayer to any deity that might have been listening, the blue-haired girl slowly stood and dusted off the now grimy velvet of her blue dress. She stood in front her mother, back straight as a chalk-board and head down.

"I'm sorry, Mother…"

"What was that?"

Natsuki flinched at the cold anger in her mother's voice and raised her voice.

"I'm sorry Mother. It was wrong of me to steal the cake. I apologize."

She stared nervously at the cold stone of the floor, her hands cold and clammy as the silence dragged on. Luckily, her brother intervened, placing a large and callused palm upon her small head.

"Come Mother, she meant no harm. Don't you remember all the antics I got up to when I was her age?" He gave a winning smile and Saeko's mouth twitched as she tried to hold back a smile. At last she gave in and knelt in front of her young daughter, her anger melting away as she looked into a pair of emerald puppy-dog eyes. "You, my dear, are the Rogue's own messenger. But if you I catch you stealing one more of my honey-glazed almond cakes, Huntress help me, I will bake you into my pastries." Natsuki grinned and nodded happily, feeling her old confidence returning now that her mother was no longer angry at her.

"If it isn't Sir Kuga, riding on his shining steed to save the land from evil."

"Papa!"

"Father."

The lord Kuga strode down the hall, his greying chestnut hair catching the late afternoon sun. Stooping, he smiled broadly and caught Natsuki, swinging her about the air and roaring hugely as he pretended to eat her.

"I'm proud of you Kai. Be careful out there. The Outlands are no place for just any knight and while I have confidence in your skills, take care." Kai's chest swelled at his father's words and he put on a severe face as he bowed slightly in acknowledgement. Natsuki's small frame wilted and she pouted.

"I thought you were going to be here for the entire summer…"

Grimacing at the faint twinge of guilt, Kai knelt and ruffled his sister's long blue locks. "Sorry Green-eyes. Duty calls. My company's booked for the Outlands and I'm not due back for a while." Sighing forlornly, Natsuki cast about for something to lighten her mood. Her eyes caught on her brother's battle-sword. The hand-and-a-half hilt was leather bound, the butt of the hilt a dragon holding a gleaming opal in its miniature fangs. Her eyes trailed the opalescent swirls of colour along the silvery-white scabbard. It was-in Natsuki's young eyes-the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Following her line of sight, Kai smiled as he caught the admiring look in her shining eyes. Without standing, he casually drew the sword from its place on his belt and swung it, clipping a single hair from her hair and performed a warrior's salute with a powerful twist of his wrist.

Natsuki gasped in frank amazement and her hands stretched unwittingly towards the blade. In an instant, her brother had sheathed the weapon and put it out of her reach.

"Can I hold your sword?"

The words slipped from her lips before she could stop herself. Natsuki's emerald orbs were riveted upon the blade. The emotions it had incited in her she could not describe. A cold tune of steely beauty sang in her heart at the sight of the deadly glory concealed with the blade.

Kai laughed.

"Sorry squirt, you're too small, you wouldn't even be able to hold it. This thing's twice your size." He cast a sideways glance at his parents. "Mother and Father would disown me if I let you cut your own head off." Saeko concealed a smile behind her hand while Roderik guffawed loudly. Natsuki puffed out her cheeks, her face turning red with annoyance and embarrassment.

"I would not! If I was your size then I could hold that sword even better than you could and it would be a way more awesome sword and I would be able to beat you in a fight with my eyes closed and…and…" Natsuki stumbled over her tongue, at a loss for words as she glared at Kai with a steel glint of determination shining in her emerald eyes.

"And one day I'll become the greatest knight in all the lands!"

Kai blinked, surprised that his words had elicited such a strong reaction from his baby sister. From the looks on his parents' faces, he suspected that the outburst had shocked them as well, especially his mother. She'd always hoped that Natsuki would follow in her steps and become a mage, but she knew as well as him that once Natsuki made a promise like that she'd hang onto it like a dog with a bone.

A sudden explosion of pain brought his attention back down. Yelping in pain, he massaged his aching shin. Natsuki had kicked him while he was in his reverie. _How can someone cause this much pain with a slipper?_ On impulse, Kai unbuckled his small black dagger and handed it to Natsuki.

"Here. Take my dagger. When you become a knight, give it back to me. Promise?"

Wide-eyed, Natsuki accepted the proffered gift with reverent hands. She grasped it tightly within her small hands. "I promise."

Nodding, Kai pet her head. "That's what I want to hear." He swept his cloak around his shoulders with a dramatic flourish, revelling at the dramatic feeling he had created. It all seemed to surreal that he would be doing something so corny, as though he were a great hero or teacher departing some knowledge or great gift unto a pupil or loved one. His dramatic entrance was ruined as he was swept into a rib-crushing bear hug by his father.

"Father…air…can't breathe…"

Roderik sniffed loudly, fat tears rolling into his beard as he abandoned all pretenses of being stoic and manly.

"I just can't help it. My sonny-boy is going off to get hacked at by barbarians. You're so grown up and manly, even if you still are a hairless chicken."

Struggling to keep a straight face, Saeko helped Kai to extricate himself from the wet and rather hairy embrace of her husband. "Now now honey, you promised not to mention that, this is Kai's special day after all." Face beet-red with humiliation, Kai shook himself down and tried to look as dignified as he could under the situation.

"I'll be leaving now. Father, Mother, Natsuki, farewell."

Turning on his heel, he left, sweeping through the doorway and into the bright sunlight outside.

* * *

Five years later on that very same day, a now taller and older Natsuki lounged casually upon her bed, clad in breeches and tunic of the Kuga colours. The sun was bright and shining, lighting up the room but Natsuki's mood was the exact opposite of the weather.

She flipped off the bed, restless energy lining her frame. Ever since she had made the promise to her brother, she had been trying to convince her parents to let her be a knight. Yet there were complications. Most importantly, the kingdom did not except female knights. Girls could either be a mage or a proper lady. Natsuki refused to become either. The early results of her magic lessons had been disastrous, and the teacher was traumatized. Every single etiquette mistress brought in to teach her had been driven out shrieking in terror and as a result there was not a magic or etiquette teacher in the land who would approach Natsuki.

"They know how good I am at fighting. Why can't they just, I don't know, magic some way to let me be a knight?"

To Natsuki, it seemed like her mother's skills and her father's influence could do just about anything, from cure colds to arrange sewing lessons from the land's finest mistress, but when it came to getting her a position as a page, it was impossible. Her mood darkened and she danced a furious jig in her room.

Several minutes later, Natsuki's vigorous movements slowed and she stopped eventually, panting from her physical exertions. Collapsing on the bed, she groaned loudly. Reaching to her waist, she stroked the dagger that hung from her belt. Drawing the blade, she let her eyes roam over its polished obsidian length. Natsuki knew every slope, dip and point on the dagger; so many times had she explored it. Lost in her reverie, she almost missed the timid knock upon her door.

"Come in."

The doors to her room creaked open a fraction of an inch and Natsuki could just make out the garb of a servant from the crack. She sighed. Why were the servants so terrified of her? So maybe she was rather short-tempered at times and she did prank them quite often, but that hardly seemed grounds for downright terror at her mere presence. "What is it? If servants were mice then we wouldn't keep cats around. What do you want?"

The poor soul outside her room shook in terror as she relayed her message in a stammering tone. "M-Mistres-s K-K-Kuga w-w-ishes to s-see you." The moment that her job was finished, the terrified girl fled.

Natsuki listened to the sound of rapidly fading footsteps and massaged her temples. "Probably another lecture about not scaring the servants again." She sat up and noticed that the fat puppy had draped itself over her boot while she had been half-lying on the bed. It was really pretty cute. Picking it up, she tucked it under one arm as she made her way out of the room and towards her mother's workroom.

"You asked to see me Mother?"

Saeko kept her back facing the door as she dripped the last drops of her concoction into a glass vial.

"Yes Natsuki, I did. Please sit." Natsuki glanced around and placed herself gingerly on the edge of the cleanest, least occupied stool she could find. Every inch of the room was covered in dusty scrolls, books, ink, quill and various jars. She set the fat puppy she was holding down on the ground and it sat there panting amiably.

After a few seconds of silence, her mother turned to face her. A pair of eyeglasses balanced upon her nose and her hair tied up out of harm's way. Mother and daughter surveyed each other. Finally, Saeko coughed, breaking the silence.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're here."

"Yes, yes I am."

Saeko pursed her lips.

"Your father and I have been talking and we've decided that perhaps we have been too harsh on you. I have always hoped that you'd follow in my path or even become a proper lady but seeing as neither of those paths is available, a decision has been finalized. You will disguise yourself as a boy and embark on your dream to become a knight."

Natsuki could hardly believe her ears. "Me? A knight? Really?" Her mother smiled wryly at her. "We could hardly keep you in the castle for the rest of your life. Half the servants are talking about finding jobs elsewhere while you are here." Natsuki had the sense of mind to look sheepish, even if she was leaping with joy within. "Shall I go pack then?"

Her mother waved a hand in dismissal. "Negative, the servants shall take care of everything. Go and enjoy the rest of your day. Now out. I have something to work on." Standing, Natsuki bowed formally then enveloped her mother in a hug of gratitude before running from the room. "Thank you so much Mama. I won't disappoint you. I swear."

Smiling as she watched her daughter run gleefully from the room, Saeko wiped a tear from her eye. "I know you won't Natsuki." Sniffing loudly, she shook herself and returned to her work.

Morning the next day saw Natsuki sitting nervously in front of table, staring suspiciously at the vial of bubbling liquid on the desk. She looked from the liquid to her mother. "Are you sure this is necessary?"

Her mother pursed her lips and glared at her in annoyance. "If you're going to whine about it, you can always go and be a mage." Natsuki shook her head vigorously and returned her glance to the bottle. _Ew…_ She popped the cork on it and sniffed it tentatively. Surprisingly, it didn't smell bad at all. "What will happen when I drink it?"

Saeko glanced thoughtfully at the bottle.

"It should help to alter you….physically. Afterall, your disguise should be convincing."

"So what you're saying is that it'll give me a penis."

"It will turn your body into that of a boy's for long periods of time. How long I'm not entirely sure but it should average about a month per mouthful."

"…But I don't want a penis."

"Just drink your potion."

Natsuki wrinkled her nose. Taking a deep breath, she put the vial to her lips and took a large mouthful. The acidic taste of what could be identified as a combination of the worst foods ever to be created hit her tongue like a tidal wave and Natsuki fought down her natural gag reflex so that she could swallow the bitter liquid. Setting the vial down upon the table, Natsuki pushed her chair back from the table and stood.

A sudden hot lance of pain shot through her stomach and she gasped, collapsing to the floor, her vision turning white as she writhed in agony. Seconds later, it was gone, leaving her upon the cold ground and panting from the sudden attack. Saeko knelt at Natsuki's side, worry etched upon her brow. "Are you alright? This wasn't supposed to happen. All the preliminary experiments went fine. I can't imagine where it went wrong…" She looked Natsuki over critically and smiled. "At least it worked. I would suggest you go and tell your father. He'll run you over the…uh..basics of the male body. Have fun practicing how to pee."

* * *

"I never want to see another penis ever again."

Natsuki was quite sure that he had been scarred for life. "I'm too young to be seeing the male body like this…nevermind touching it. I'm never going to get married now…" His heart wept silently for his lost innocence and traumatized soul. Although it must be said that he was undoubtedly good-looking. A good deal of his time after drinking the gender-transformation potion had been spent in front of mirrors. Taking a deep breath, Natsuki stepped from his room and made his way to the Main Hall where his parents awaited him with his bags.

"I'll be leaving now."

They nodded, giving their now male daughter smiles of encouragement. Exiting the doors of the castle, Natsuki mounted the horse, following his guard escort towards the castle and his future.

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Thanks to all for reading. Remember, reviews are the fuel for writers! =)


	2. Chapter 2

Kai is my own character 3Q for reading ：3

Natsuki shifted slightly as the knightmaster looked over her critically. "Hmph, why anybody would send like you up to me is a mystery. Ah well, you might actually have some skill in gangly limbs of yours." Natsuki was stung by his words and was immediately determined to prove that she not what he thought. Just then, a person entered the room. He had green hair, dark eyes and a slight frown upon his face. He was also extremely handsome. "Ah, Akira-kun, what excellent timing you have. You know the castle quite well, don't you? You'll be in charge of taking this new boy around." Natsuki smirked inwardly; pleased that she had deceived the knightmaster into thinking he was boy. Akira looked her over, then nodded and gestured for Natsuki to follow him. The moment the two of them were outside, Akira turned to Natsuki and looked around to make sure that nobody was listening. "You're not really a boy, are you?"

Natsuki was stunned. "H-How do you know that?" Akira humphed and turned away, walking down the corridor. "H-Hey, don't just ignore me!" Akira continued walking without even a backwards glance. "If you do not follow, I highly suspect that you'll soon be lost. Hurry up." Natsuki scowled and ran after Akira. "Yo, don't just ignore me like that. How do you know that?" Akira stopped so suddenly that Natsuki plowed right into her. He turned and glowered at Natsuki. "I'll tell you soon, but not here and definitely not now." Then he continued walking with Natsuki trailing after him wondering why nothing seemed to be going the way she wanted. Turning a corner, she crashed headlong into someone else, knocking both of them to the ground. "Sweet holy pants. Don't you people watch where you go……?" Standing in front of her was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. "..ing?" Waist-length silky chestnut brown hair, crimson eyes, a perfectly proportioned body and an amused look upon her face.

"Ara, when a knight knocks a lady to the ground in such a rude manner, the most he can do is help her up and apologize for his rudeness. I doubt that staring and drooling are part of his actions." "Wha!" Natsuki shot up and blushed furiously while wiping at his mouth with one hand. She checked it. Clean of drool. She glared at the other girl who was still sitting on the ground. "You tricked me!" The girl gave her an angelic smile and held out a hand to be helped up. Natsuki grabbed it and pulled her up. The moment she was standing on firm ground, Natsuki dropped her hand. Akira bowed to the girl. "I'm sorry, Viola-sama, but we must be leaving." He jerked his head at Natsuki. "Come." Natsuki was more than happy to find an excuse to get away from the red-eyed goddess. Once they were out of hearing, she asked, "Who was she?" Akira flicked his eyes in her direction. "That was Shizuru Viola, our princess." Natsuki mulled over this for a bit. "How do you know that I'm a girl?" Her guide sighed. "You really don't give up, do you?" Natsuki nodded emphatically. "Nope. Answer please." They reached her room. She pulled out the key the knightmaster had given her and opening her door, dragged Akira in. "Now, nobody can hear us, so for the love of pants, tell me the reason why!" Akira sighed, but seeing as Natsuki had seated herself in front of the doorway, there was no way she could escape. "You promise that you won't tell anybody?" he asked. Natsuki looked puzzled. "Of course not, why would I?" Akira knelt and whispered something in Natsuki's ear. Natsuki pulled back with wide eyes. "You're a WHAT?!?!" she yelled.

Hahahahaha, what did Akira tell Natsuki? Continue reading to find out. 3Q~


	3. Chapter 3

3Q very much 4 reading_

"You're a WHAT?!?!" yelled Natsuki. Akira hissed and clapped a hand over the girl's mouth. "Shut. Up. D'you want the whole castle to hear?" Natsuki pulled Akira's hand away, her eyes wide. "Why do you have to dress as a boy? Did you also want to become a knight?" Akira sighed. "No, my situation's a tad different from yours." Natsuki made herself comfortable. "Go on then, tell. I've got the time." The green-haired girl looked at her as if she was crazy. "Now." Natsuki nodded. "No." Natsuki scowled. "Why? It's not as if we've got anything else to do." Akira sighed yet again. "Actually, we do. We have to be down in the dinner hall in exactly three minutes flat or else we're both dead." Natsuki's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!?!?" she screamed. "Why are you telling me now?!" Akira shrugged nonchalantly. "'Cause I can get us down in one."

Natuski paused mid-rant and turned around. "You can? How?" Akira motioned for her to step closer. "Hold my hand." She scowled as she saw Natsuki's expression. "It's the only way it'll work so stop looking at me like that." Gingerly, the blue-haired girl took hold of Akira's hand, holding it like was a dead mouse. Sighing impatiently, Akira grabbed Natsuki's hand properly. Natsuki noticed in a rather detached manner that her guide seemed to sigh quite a lot. The next thing she knew, the two of them were spinning through the air and landed neatly in the dinner hall. At least Akira landed neatly. Natsuki collapsed the moment her feet touched the ground, her legs seemed to have turned into jelly. The green-haired girl grabbed her roughly by the collar and hauled her up. "Get up. You're making a scene." Natsuki stood, a little shakily but at least she could still stand. Looking around, she noticed that her guide had already strolled off in another direction and that quite a few people were shaking with silent laughter and some weren't even bothering to hide the fact that they were laughing at her. Her face burning with embarrassment, she ducked her head and walked quickly after Akira.

Sitting next to her, Natsuki ran a hand through her hair in frustration. If looks could kill, Akira would have been dead by now. Frowning, Natsuki wondered if the other girl had done it on purpose. "Sorry about that." "Huh?" Natsuki gawked at Akira. Was the girl **apologizing** to her? She must have heard wrong. Just to confirm it she asked, "What?" Akira scowled down at the table. "I said sorry. Didn't mean for you to fall. It's just that, I've never fallen while I was doing it so I didn't expect for the same to happen to you. Sorry." Natsuki blinked. "Oh, okay." She gave the other girl a smile. Akira nodded and the two of them rose to join the line of pushing, joking boys that were waiting to be served. Standing in line behind Akira, Natsuki felt a sudden urge to jump around and pump her fist in the air. **I've made my first friend here! **She thought.** I wish that Oni-chan were here to see this!**

"Hey, you're new here right?" Natsuki looked up from where she was eating in a way that would not be out of place in a pigpen. Swallowing her mouthful of food, she nodded. "Yeah, how could you tell?" The boy who had spoken to her had the looks of a playboy about him, with blue hair, glasses and a smile hovering about his lips. Rolling his eyes, he gave her a dazzling smile, quite a contrast since all she had seen that day was Akira's scowl. "None of us older pages are crazy enough to even try to talk to Akira, so you **have** to be new. By the way, I'm Chie, Chie Hallard." Natsuki nodded and looked sideways at Akira who was pointedly ignoring the two of them. "Akira's not that bad," she said in her new friend's defense. Chie lifted her one eyebrow. "Really. You must be the first person to say that about her. What's your name?" "Natsuki, Natsuki Kruger." Chie's jaw dropped. "Kruger?!" she yelled. "As in KAI Kruger?!" Natsuki nodded. "Yeah, he's my brother." Chie looked exalted. "OMG, he's a hero and he's your brother?!" Natsuki sweat-dropped. "Uuhh yeah. That's what I said." At this moment, Akira turned and glared at Chie. "Beat it, Hallard. **NOW.**" Three seconds later, Chie was gone. Natsuki turned to look at Akira. "What did you do that for? Also, why is everyone so scared of you?" Akira returned to her food. "You will never tell Hallard anything ever again, unless you want it to be known to every single person in the castle, and people are scared of me because I'm at the top of every class and I have magic." Natsuki's jaw dropped. "Magic? So that was how you got us down so fast."

Akira nodded. "Wind and shadow magic. They'll be testing you to see if you got it as well tomorrow. Now eat and stop bothering me." Natsuki picked at her food for a bit. "Why do you seem to really hate Hallard?" The other girl scowled angrily. "For reasons that only I will know and you will never ask about again." Natsuki blinked. "Fair enough." They finished their meal in silence. Walking back to their rooms after the meal, Natsuki noticed that quite a lot of the maids seemed to be staring rather blatantly at Akira. Wondering if she should ask Akira why, Natsuki noticed Chie flirting with a red-headed maid whose dress was so short it was amazing that she had been allowed to become a maid. Looking to see if Akira had noticed Chie, she was shocked to see that Akira glaring daggers at the blue haired boy. When Chie went as far as to stroke the redhead's face, Akira looked as if she was going to explode. Grabbing Natsuki by the arm, she towed the two of them past the flirting couple as fast as she could. Looking at Akira, the redhead gave her a flirtatious wink. "Hey, Akira-kun. How come you don't visit me in my room anymore?" Natsuki swore that she could she steam coming out of Akira's very red ears. Suddenly, she understood. **Hmmm, I think I just found "Akira-kun's" weakness.** She thought as she was dragged to her rooms by a fuming Akira.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to all of the wonderful people who reviewed, my sincerest compliments to the chef. **3Q~**

"Hey, Akira."

"Hmm?"

Natsuki looked sideways at her newfound friend. She had pestered the other girl into having a sleepover in her room and Akira was currently lying on a mattress on the ground. "You said that your reason for dressing as a boy wasn't to become a knight. What is it then?" Akira's ever-present scowl deepened as she crossed her arms behind her head. She went silent. When she spoke, it was in a low voice, laden with hatred. "Revenge. I'm looking for revenge against the bastard that killed my best friend. He always wanted to be a knight." Here her voice became gentler. "When we were kids, we were always playing at being knights. He always thought that I was a boy, things were easier that way." Natsuki sat up in bed and looked down at Akira. "You loved him?" Akira was silent. "I guess so, in a sort of brotherly way. We were about ten years old and there was a squire visiting his family." She sneered. "He was visiting his family, I think. Anyways, he did this every year and the two of us never got along. The two of us got into a fight and…." She trailed off. Clearing her throat, she started again. "Takumi tried to stop us but he never managed to. The bastard had to of his friends hold me down. Said that he was going to teach us to know our place, and then he had me watch while he beat up Takumi." Natsuki's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Oh my God. What happened next?"

Akira sighed and covered her eyes with her hand. "I lost control. Threw the two holding me into a wall and I called a hurricane to get rid of the squire, but it was too late. Takumi died in my arms. I can't even look at his sister since that day even though she says she doesn't blame me for his death." "Oh." Natsuki looked mortified and quickly moved onto lighter topics. "So, I noticed that you seem quite popular among the girls here, aren't you, Akira-kun?" Akira jerked. "Shut up," she mumbled, her face turning red. "It's not as if I want the attention. Chie spread the rumor of me being number one Hottie in the castle and most of the maids agree so I'm stuck with it. Now you know shy I hate her so much." Natsuki grinned, secretly relieved that she was able to distract her friend from her troubling past. "Forgive me for saying so," she said, her green eyes shining with mischief. "But I don't think that you would mind the attentions of a certain redhead." Akira shot up for her mattress. "What did you say?" She glared at the dark-haired girl whose emerald green eyes were shining with mischief. "You heard me. You like that girl, don't you? That was why you hate Chie so much. Because she was flirting with the girl that you like."

Akira looked as if she would have gladly destroyed everything in the castle, starting from Chie and then moving onto Natsuki and everything else. Striding forwards, she grabbed Natsuki by her collar. "I do not like Nao," she hissed, her face burning. "Ha! No honorifics, you must really like her. And you even called her by name." Akira let go of Natsuki's collar and sat back down on her mattress. She glared up at Natsuki. "If you tell anybody, I'll kill you and eat you." Natsuki smirked. "Does she know that you like her?" Akira groaned and tossed herself back onto her mattress. "How could she not know? She's always teasing me. What about your own feelings for Viola-sama?" Her last question caught Natsuki off-guard. "W-What about my feelings for her?" Akira scoffed. "Please, I saw the way that you were looking at her. You like her, don't you?" Natsuki immediately began to stutter out denials. Akira held up a hand to silence her. "Hush, it doesn't make any difference to me. You're not the only one to fall for her. Everybody likes her with one or two small exceptions. The main question is if she likes you back and if you can win her over." The two of them fell silent. "You should get some sleep." Akira lay back down on her mattress. "Otherwise you're not going to fare too well at tomorrow's classes. I'm going to bed too so don't bother me." Natsuki nodded and Akira called a puff of wind to blow the light out. Darkness fell over the room.

"Hey Akira, are you still awake?"

"Yeah, what's wrong? Can't sleep?"

"Nah, just wanted to say thanks."

Akira was silent for a moment.

"What for?"

"For being my friend." Natsuki's seemed to be drifting off to sleep by now, just barely hanging on to wakefulness.

"Oh. Well then, you're welcome. Now shut up and go to sleep." Her words fell upon deaf ears, seeing as Natsuki was already sound-asleep. Snorting impatiently, Akira turned and fell asleep as well, wondering what the next day would bring as sleep finally claimed her.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to all the people who reviewed, I LUURVE you all and will do my best to make up for the time that was wasted

Akira awoke to the sound of bird's chirping. With a growl of annoyance, she got up and retreated behind a screen to change. Finishing a few minutes later, she walked out to see that Natsuki was still asleep. Her eyebrow twitched. Being the kind and loving person that she was, Akira decided to wake the sleeping girl. Grabbing a jug of ice-cold water from a bedside table, she dumped the contents all over Natsuki's head in one swift movement. The girl's scream of shock allowed a faint smile to cross her normally stony features.

"I can NOT believe you did that to me," said Natsuki for the hundredth time as they waited in line to get breakfast. "Believe it. It happened." Akira nodded at her server and waited for Natsuki to get her own breakfast. "You know, I'm beginning to understand why nobody wanted to be your friend," complained Natsuki as they headed for two empty seats. "That is, except the maids. They ALL seem to want to be you friend." Several older pages overheard this and chuckled, immediately lapsing into silence when Akira fixed them with a venomous glare. "Shut. Up." Natsuki snickered and flicked one of Akira's very red ears. "What? Are you afraid that your crush is going to hear me?" They reached their table and began eating in silence. They finished in this manner because Akira was very pointedly ignoring her friend.

"First class is Math. I hate Math." After Natsuki had apologized to Akira on bended knees…literally, the two had become quite friendly again. Reaching their classroom, Akira shrugged. "Are you any good at it?" Natsuki scowled. "More or less, but it's just so boring." "Then get a seat by me. I'll keep you awake." Natsuki looked at Akira warily. "No funny moves, okay?" The girl nodded. "Got it, now let's get inside." They entered and Natsuki backed out almost instantly. Akira's eyebrows narrowed. "What are you doing?" Natsuki glared at her friend. "You did not tell me that…that…that Girl was in our class!" Akira looked in. "Oh, Viola-sama. She's in pretty much all our classes, except jousting and hand-to-hand combat. There's a rumor that she's going to be in our hand-to-hand combat this year though." Natsuki groaned. "I'm delighted. Wow. How absolutely marvelous." Akira lifted a single eyebrow. "Good. Then we can go in." Grabbing Natsuki's wrist, she towed the other girl into the classroom and Natsuki's emerald-green eyes collided instantly with Shizuru's ruby-red ones.

Shizuru sat in her seat while her fanboys milled around her. She sighed inwardly. If only her cousin Reito was here. He would help to get rid of her fanboys. Unfortunately, Reito had decided that his interests lay in sorcery and was no longer studying here so she was left to fend the fanboys off by herself. Looking around, her eyes caught those of the boy she had bumped into before. _**Hmm**_ she thought. _**Maybe this class won't be as boring as I thought.**_ Looking away with slight difficulty from the boy's breathtaking emerald-green eyes, she noticed the green-haired boy next to him. _**Ara, that must be Akira "Castle's Number 1 Hottie," **_she thought. Akira was incredibly good-looking, even with a slight scowl on his face, but she wasn't about to start stealing away Nao's prey. Smiling at her fanboys, she slowly stood and made her way towards the two.

"Ohmysweetholypantsinheavenshe'scomingthisway!!!" Akira rolled her eyes. Leaning towards Natsuki, she whispered in the girl's ear. "You're acting like one of her crazed fanboys." That got the girl's attention. She looked at Akira indignantly. "Ara." They looked up to see Shizuru standing in front of them. "You must be the boy who crashed into me before. Nice to see you again. Have any more accidents lately?" Natsuki's eyebrow twitched and she scowled. Though this princess was gorgeous, she was also incredibly irritating. "No, and I see you make it a habit to go around seducing random people in the streets. What are you, some kinda slut?" A cold tension filled the room and the princess' eyebrows narrowed in annoyance. Whatever retort she was about to make, was cut off by the teacher's entrance. "Alright children. Time for Math." Another hour of boredom followed his statement.

_**Crash!**_ "Hiya!" _**Crash! Bang! **_"Hey, Shizuru, pipe down. I can't concentrate with you so noisy." Shizuru turned and smiled apologetically at the redhead. "Ara, gomen Nao-chan. I guess I'm feeling a bit stressed right now." Nao eyed the splintered pieces of wood that had been a training post not too long ago. "A bit stressed, right." Shizuru freed her hair of its ponytail and walked over to Nao. "Ara, is Nao actually making a list? An organized list? How rare." Nao just rolled her eyes. "It's a list of the many possible ways that I'll be able to snag Akira. That kid sees me and runs, it's becoming rather annoying." Shizuru tilted her head to one side and put a finger to her chin, thinking. After a while, she walked off to wash and change. Nao watched her go with a lifted eyebrow. Sighing, she started to get up as well, then froze as she spotted someone else on the practice field. Upon recognizing the figure, she gave a wolfish grin and started towards it.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to all the people who reviewed my story, especially **krugern** who helped bring my number of reviews up to the twenties finally. Thanks kid! I got a free meal because of you. Also mucho thanks to **jquackers**giving so much advice.

Akira scowled as she made her way through the practice field. **The kid wasn't even hurt, **she thought. "HE WASN'T EVEN HURT!!!"she roared at the heavens. Sighing, she hefted the wooden practice swords higher on her shoulder. "It wasn't my fault," she muttered. "He was provoking me; I didn't want to hit him. I just…just lost cuffed a few times around the head." Reaching the storehouse at the corner of the practice field, Akira deposited her load in the box. Someone from behind tapped her shoulder. "Hey handsome, stalking me already? Didn't think you were that desperate." Akira growled.

Nao smirked as she heard the boy's angry growl. Akira turned and tried to push pass her. "Move it, Yuuki. I've got work to do." Nao adopted a hurt expression and put a hand to her….cleavage. She watched as Akira's eyes followed the path of her hand, then turn away quickly, a blush making its way across his cheeks. "I'm hurt, Akira-kun. After all the trouble I went through to come and greet you and this is the welcome I get?" The green-haired boy ignored her statement and slipped past her to continued picking up the practice equipment strewn around the field. Nao sighed. _**So he's going to be difficult,**_ she thought, and then grinned like the Cheschire cat._** Just the way I like it.**_

Akira groaned inwardly. This **really** wasn't her day; first that idiotic boy who was her reason for being here, then Nao turning up to cause even more trouble. **Not that I would mind…., **said a part of brain. Growling, Akira slapped herself. Now wasn't the time to think about the annoying yet extremely hot redhead. **This is bad,** she thought. **This is really, really, really bad. I can NOT fall in love with Nao. I am NOT falling in love with Nao. OMSHP, I'm falling in love with her. **Coming to this conclusion, she began to ram her head against a wooden post.

Nao squinted at Akira's distant figure. _**Is he doing what I think he's doing?**_She looked closely. _**Yes, he's doing what I think he's doing. **_Sighing, she decided to go over and stop the idiot boy before he hurt himself. She arrived just in time to see Akira knock himself into unconsciousness. _**Hmm, I do believe my timing might have been a little off.**_ Kneeling, she hefted the boy onto her back and began the tiring trip to the infirmary with him. _**This is going to be a long day.**_

Akira moaned. She thought her head was going to split. Grimacing, she sat up and found her face alarmingly close to someone else's. "Sweet pants!" she hollered, shooting backwards. "Yuuki!" she exclaimed. The redhead sat on a chair and crossed her legs, giving Akira a cat-like smile. "Hey Akira-kun. You're amazingly cute when you're asleep. You talk in your sleep too." A chill ran down Akira's spine, her headache forgotten. Forcing herself to talk in a calm voice, she asked, "What did you hear, Yuuki?"

Nao knew that she'd hit the jackpot. Feigning indifference, she studied her nails. "Why should I tell you?" She hid a smile when she heard the boy's voice raise slightly. "What did you hear?" "Oh, just some stuff. I heard my own name a couple of times, along with the word hot and sexy." She watched the boy's hands curl into fists on the snowy-white blanket. "That's a lie." Nao shrugged. "Believe what you will. But I'm quite sure the maids will this piece of news VERY interesting."

Akira began to panic. **No, she wouldn't tell. Would she?** She stole a look at Nao who was still studying her nails. As far as she knew, the girl would definitely have the news around the entire castle in less than a day, unless… "What do you want?" "What are you talking about?" Akira looked annoyed. "You know damn well what I'm talking about. What do you want in exchange for keeping your mouth shut?"

Nao knew that she had Akira in the palm of her hand. It seemed that he was quite desperate to keep the news from spreading. "A date." Akira blinked. "What?" He was so adorable with that puzzled look on his face. "A date." Nao repeated. "You go on a date with me and I'll keep my mouth shut about this entire affair." Akira gawked at her and then, "A DATE?!?!"

Meanwhile…

Natsuki paused what she was doing and looked up with a puzzled look. "Something for you?" barked the weapons-master. Natsuki shook her head. "No, nothing." "THEN STOP STANDING THERE BOY!!" roared the weapons-master, turning to yell at another boy. "Natsuki frowned. **I thought I heard Akira's voice…**Looking around, she shrugged. **Keh, probably just my imagination.**

"You want me to go on a DATE with you?!" Nao nodded emphatically, noticing that this was the first time she had ever seen Akira so worked up about something. "NO. Absolutely not, I'd rather die first." Nao had been expecting this. "Fine then, in about…three days, the news will be all over the school." Akira paled visibly. "You…you…you…Fine then, I'll go out with you, but then no one hears of this. Got it?" Nao smirked, pleased that the boy had given in so quickly. "Deal." They shook on it.

An hour later…

Natsuki watched as Akira slunk into the library, glaring daggers at anyone who looked at her funny. Slumping into the chair beside Natsuki, Akira buried her face in her hands and groaned loudly. Natsuki just looked at her. "What's with you? And why weren't you in class today?" Akira's voice was muffled. "I was being punished for ridding the world of idiots. And I've got a date with Nao." Natsuki's eyes bulged out of her head. "YOU'VE GOT A DATE WITH N" Akira clapped a hand over the blue-haired girl's mouth. "What are you idiots staring at?" she barked at the people who had turned at Natsuki's outburst. "You're not paid to stare at people."

Natsuki pulled Akira's hand from her mouth. "You're going to go out with _**Nao**_?!" she hissed. Akira nodded. "If I don't, she's going to spread a rumor about me all over school." "What kind of rumor?" Natsuki looked up to see who had spoken. "Chie-san!" The boy grinned. "In the flesh. So, what kind of rumor?" Akira glared at Chie. "None of your business, Hallard. Beat it." Chie took several hasty steps back. "Hey, hey, calm down. I swear I'm not going to spread it around." Akira scoffed. "Yeah, right, nobody in their right mind would actually believe that." Natsuki turned to look at Akira. "Come on, Akira. He already swore that he wouldn't tell." Akira sweat-dropped. **Wow, someone DOES believe that. I didn't think it would be someone so close to me… **

Natsuki watched as her friend thought about it. "No." Chie looked pleadingly at Akira from three meters away. "Akira-san, I swear I won't tell, besides, you can always kill me if I do." Akira just looked at Chie. "No. I've got to go. I'm busy." Then she left without a backward glance. Natsuki took pity on Chie who looked like a kid who's favorite puppy had died all of a sudden. "Hey, cheer up. She doesn't mean it. I'm sure she'll tell you sooner or later." Chie sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Can I ask a favor of you, Natsuki-kun?" Natsuki cocked her head to one side. "Sure, why not?" "Tell this to Akira-kun. Maybe HE'll trust me more this way." Chie whispered something into Natsuki's ear, and then walked off. Natsuki stood there. **What in the name of pantyhose is wrong with this school?, she thought.**

Mwahahahaha, what did Chie tell Natsuki? Continue reading to find out

聖誕節快樂 to all of you Orz~


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to all the LUURVELY people who reviewed my masterpiece

Hope that you all continue reading and yes, I am evil. 3Q very much 4 saying so

P.S聖誕節快樂 means Merry Christmas in Chinese Free Chinese lesson people Orz~

A mildly traumatized Natsuki walked to the halls, earning strange looks from passersby's due to the expression on her face. **What have I done to deserve such treatment? Is this some sort of horrible punishment and if it is, exactly what have I done? Is this for disguising myself as a boy and trying to surpass my brother? Is that even illegal? Why couldn't I have gone to a normal school? One where boys are boys and girls are girls, a school without this whole cross-dressing mess?** Here, she conveniently forgot that she was also a cross-dresser, along with Akira…. and Chie.

"Are you sure that it was a good idea for you to tell Natsuki, Chie?" Chie shrugged. "Don't know. I haven't heard anything lately so she probably hasn't told anyone. Have you Aoi?" The brown-haired girl shook her head. "No, I'll see if Mai knows anything.", she promised. Chie nodded. "Aah, Mai. Now that's a great person. Mm-hmm." Aoi glared at Chie. "Pervert." Chie put on a hurt expression. "What are you talking about? I'm simply referring to her kind, motherly nature." Her companion rolled her eyes. "Right, and Akira-san is actually a very kind, loving person who's just misunderstood." Chie put a hand to her heart. "Ah, lovely Aoi, the blow that your words have given has broken my heart. Now, I must depart for the next world. Farewell, cruel beauty." She staggered off in a rather exaggerated manner. Aoi watched her go and shook her head. "Why do I even like her?" she asked to no one in particular.

Akira sat beneath the shade of a large tree, savoring the feeling of the cool wind blowing across her face. She wondered how Natsuki would fare alone in class, hoping that her friend wouldn't say of do anything to stupid. **Friend, **she thought.** This is the first time that I've ever seen or thought of someone as a friend, aside from Takumi. He always used to find it amusing that I couldn't get along with anybody other than him. I wonder what he'd say if he could see me now. **She looked up at the clear blue sky. **Takumi, I wish that you were here to help me out of this mess.**

A shadowy figure crouched upon a branch, regarding its prey with narrowed yellow eyes. Chuckling to itself, it pounced upon the unsuspecting figure below. "GOTCHA!!" Akira yelped as she felt a weight descend upon her shoulders, knocking her flat to the ground. Craning her neck to see who it was that was nuzzling her neck so enthusiastically, she caught a glimpse of wild black hair and two thin braids. "Mikoto, you are going to get off me before I decide to kill you." The younger girl gave her a bright grin but stayed where she was.

"Heh heh, 'kira-kun won't hurt me. I know you won't." "Oh for the love of Pants." Akira wiggled out from under Mikoto. Grabbing hold of the cat-like girl's cheeks, she began to pull them. Hard. "OOOWW. Hoppit fifa-fun." Akira ignored the plea. "You asked for it so take it like…like a girl." Mikoto whimpered as she tried to pull free of the evil hands that were torturing her poor cheeks. Her wish came true when Akira suddenly let go of her own accord.

"HEY!"

Akira looked up into the angry face of Mai.

"Akira, I told you not to pick on Mikoto!"

"She started it first!"

"And what exactly did she do to deserve such horrible treatment?"

"Oh for the love of Jesus' novelty under-crackers, she bloody well jumped on me!"

"She's a kid and she's crazy. That's how she greets everybody!"

"Well, why can't she greet people in a normal way?!"

"Because that's how she is!"

"You're the one who's supposed to be teaching her. Teach her that!"

"Are you accusing me of being a bad guardian?"

"YES!!"

Mai glared at Akira. Akira glared at Mai. Mikoto sat in the middle, not quite sure if she ought to be taking a side or running like hell. She decided to take Option 3. Sit there and not do anything to attract attention. Her stomach however, chose that moment to growl loudly. Mai turned to look at her while Akira chose that chance to disappear among the treetops. "Mai, I'm hungry." The redhead had been about to scold Mikoto on disappearing like that, then decided not to. Sighing, she gestured to Mikoto. "Come on then, let's see what we can find for you."

Nao sighed as she watched Akira disappear. She mentally cursed Mikoto and Mai for ruining her perfect chance to tease to green-haired boy. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, besides taking classes with Shizuru, Nao set off back towards the castle. She decided halfway up the slope, that it wasn't worth her time and lay down where she stood. Her eyes fluttered shut and she was soon asleep.

Natsuki sat in class, staring blankly at her textbook, completely unaware of the teacher's warning glares. "KRUGER! STAND UP!" Natsuki shot up and promptly knocked her chair over. She heard the distinctive sound of Shizuru laughing demurely. Her ears flushed red in anger and embarrassment. "VIOLA! YOU CAN STAND TOO IF YOU FIND IT SO FUNNY!" Natsuki his a smirk. Aah, the sweet taste of revenge. The teacher glared pointedly at each of them before continuing. "THE TWO OF YOU WILL SPEND EVERY SINGLE REST PERIOD THIS WEEK TOGETHER IN THE TROPHY ROOM POLISHING EVERY SINGLE SPECK OF RUST OFF THE TROPHIES! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

Natsuki stormed into her dormitory and kicked the door shut with such force, three painting fell from the walls. Ignoring them, she tossed herself down on the bed. She and that bloody Viola had spent their first day of detention glaring at each other. Natsuki decided to go and check up on Akira who had decided to ditch every single class that day. Walking into Akira's room, she found her friend staring in horror at a calendar on the wall. Natsuki went to stare at the calendar as well. Nope, nothing wrong with it. "Akira, what are you looking at?" Then she saw it. Somebody, and she could probably guess who, had stuck a piece of paper on the wall.

_**Hello, Hottie-kun. Just wanted to remind you that your date with me's tomorrow. See you at the gates. Oh, and dress nicely or I'll have to change your clothes for you~ Love, Nao.**_ Akira ripped the paper off the wall and burned it. "I'm going to kill her," muttered the girl. Natsuki noted that her friend's ears were a very charming shade of red.

"Sooo, are you going to show up, _Hottie-kun?"_

"NOOO!!"

"Why are you going out with her anyway?"

"She'll spread a rumor about me if I don't"

"It can't be that bad."

"………."

"You better show up then."

Akira looked at Natsuki, and spoke two words.

"HELP ME."

Natsuki looked at her friend's tortured expression.

"OK, sure."

Akira slumped down onto a nearby chair, and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank Pants. You're the best thing that's happened to me this year Natsuki. I pay you back for this, I promise." Natsuki gave a wry smile. "How about getting me out of detention?" The emerald-eyed girl was caught completely off-guard by Akira's miniature smile. "Sorry, no can do."

Natsuki nodded dumbly and walked back to her room. A single thought followed her all the way back. **Akira really should smile more,** she thought, the image of her friend's smile burned into her mind.

Sorry for the late update, but my final exam's coming up and technically, I really should be studying right now. But, because I LUURVE you, I will sneak onto the computer, risk life and limb, just to write a single story. Spectacularly MAD.

新年快樂 恭喜發財 HAPPY NEW YEARS~


	8. Chapter 8

OH YEAH!!! MY EXAMS ARE OVER!!!! THIS IS A THANKS TO THE END OF THE NEVER-ENDING TORTURE OF TESTS!!!!

THANKS TO ALL THAT REVIEWED, LUUUURRRVE YOU!!!!

"Uh, what about this?"

"…..Do you really want to die that badly?"

*Sigh* "This?"

"Hell no."

"Maybe we should ask someone else for help. We're both hopeless anyways. Unless you want to have Nao…"

"No."

"No to help or to Nao dressing you?"

"Both."

"Work with me here, Akira. I'm trying to help you."

"Fine, get help then."

"Good, you wait here."

Natsuki exited Akira's room to look for help. Akira glared at the clothes strewn around the room. If looks could kill, the garments would have been ashes. As it was, her power just caused to clothes to be blown into even worse disarray. Suddenly, the door was thrown open by an enthusiastic Natsuki. Akira decided that she was never going to ask Natsuki for help again, the girl was having way too much fun with this.

"Hey Akira, I found someone to help you!" Akira looked up….right into the face of an astonished Mai. The clothes that had been flying around the room dropped to the ground. A hose promptly hit Akira full in the face. Mai stared for a second, then burst out laughing.

Akira ripped the piece of cloth off her face and threw them to the ground. Turning to Natsuki, she yelled, "What is _**SHE**_ doing here?!" Natsuki looked puzzled. "I thought I told you, Akira. She's here to help you dress for your date." Mai choked mid-laugh and gawked at Akira. "_**YOU**_ have a _**DATE**_?! _**YOU**_?!"

"Yeah, you gotta problem with that?" Akira's challenging tone was ruined by the red tint on her cheeks. Mai shook her head, bent over by an attack of giggles. Akira huffed and turned her back on them. With a tremendous effort, Mai got her giggles under control and touched Akira gently on the shoulder. "Sorry about that, but it's rather amusing to hear that you're going to be with someone other then Takumi."

Akira stiffened. The clothes began to stir on the ground. It was Natsuki who broke the awkward silence. "So, let's get started. You're "date" is in exactly one hour." Mai brightened and Akira wished that some maniac wielding a telephone would come and kill her. (Someone actually did hit me with a telephone once. My classmates all thought that I'd been fighting. It is my fate to be misunderstood.)

Half an hour later…

"…Is this it?" "Yes and you are a masterpiece." "Thank Pants." Akira stepped down from the chair she had been standing on. She looked in the mirror and her jaw dropped. "I look like a boy." Mai gave Akira a look. "You're supposed to look like a boy, you moron. That's what Nao thinks." "EEEHH?!" Akira whipped around and pulled a muscle in her neck. Eyes watering from the pain, she gawked at Mai. Natsuki did the same.

"YOU KNOW THAT I'M/SHE'S A BOY?!" Mai looked at them strangely. "Of course I do. I walked in on you taking a bath when you were young, remember?" Akira frowned. "Oh, yeah. I remember now. I threatened to kill you if you told, right?" Mai nodded. Akira scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Heh, sorry about that, but still, it's nice of you to help me even after I threatened to kill you." She turned back to admire herself in the mirror.

She was dressed in a forest green tunic with a black shirt and pants trimmed with silver. Mai grinned as she adjusted the outfit. Akira allowed Mai to fuss over the outfit. "Like it?" Akira was silent for a second. "It's great, Tokiha-san. Thanks." Mai gave Akira a kind smile. "You're welcome, and if you call me "Tokiha-san" one more time, I'll stick you with this pin." Akira rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Natsuki pretended to wipe her eyes. "Wow, this is just incredibly touching and all, but you have three minutes to get down to the gates before Nao decides to make you do something incredibly embarrassing." "Sweet Pants!" Akira tore out of the room. "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?!" Natsuki chuckled. "I love doing that." Sitting down on the chair Akira had abandoned. "How did you and Akira meet?" Natsuki asked Mai.

Nao leaned against the castle gates. "If he doesn't come in exactly three seconds, I'm going to have him strip-tease." Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and Akira appeared, looking rather disheveled. "I am NOT late." He looked positively murderous. Nao grinned like the cat who ate the canary. "Excuse me, but I think that I'LL be the one to determine whether you're late or not today."

"Hmm." The redhead looked lazily at Akira and took a slow circuit around the boy. "Nice, plain, simple, but nice. Who helped you?" The boy she was inspecting turned to face her. "What makes you think that I had help?" Nao rolled her eyes. "Duh, you never wear anything that's fashionable. Not that it makes a difference. With your looks, you could practically pull off anything."

Akira fought to keep the blush from rising on her face. "W-Whatever. Are we going to go or just stand here chatting?" She almost instantly regretted her words. "Ooh, so eager to get me alone, Akira-kun? What are you planning to do to me?" "S-SHUT UP!"

Several minutes later…

A girl and a girl cross-dressing as a boy strolled down the street. "….Nao?" "Yes, my love?" Akira forced the blush from her face and gave Nao her best glare. The redhead just smiled at her. "Stop hanging onto my arm and don't call me that." Nao pouted cutely, causing Akira to look away blushing full-force. "But I like hanging onto your arm. Besides, don't you think we look REALLY good together?"

Akira's expression was priceless. Nao cheered for herself inwardly as she watched her date's face. _**I really should tease him more,**_ she thought. _**His expressions are DEFINITELY worth it.**_ She pressed herself closer to Akira, feeling him stiffen almost instantly. "Weelll, don't you think so, _Hottie-kun~_?" "U-Uh…I…I…W-Whatever." Nao stifled a giggle. _**AAAAHH!! STUTTERING!!! THAT IS SOOO CUTE!! **_She watched the boy blush for a bit, then leaned up to whisper hotly in his ear. "So, what do you want to do, _Hottie-kun~_?"

Akira thought that she was going to faint. **Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown. If I react, she's going to have even more fun. **Little did she know that her fierce blush had already betrayed her to the mischievous redhead. "I-I don't even want to be h-here. Y-You d-decide."

Nao's hand began to draw circles on Akira's tight stomach, ignoring the looks that they were getting from the passersby. "All right then, I know where we can go. Follow me." Nao took Akira's hand and dragged him off. She sighed happily. _**This is the best day of my life.**_

Akira had no choice but to follow her guide. After a few minutes of maneuvering her way through extremely crowded streets, she stopped and dragged Nao in front of her. The redhead looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"Akira looked away. "It's too crowded." Nao rolled her eyes. "Obviously. What did you expect?" Akira just looked at Nao. "Don't slap me for this."

Nao frowned. "What do you-" The next thing she knew, she was soaring above the rooftops in Akira's arms. The boy gave her a downward glance. "Stop me when we get there." Nao nodded, dumbstruck. Then she grinned deviously as a idea crept into her mind. She shifted and pressed her lips to Akira's neck. The boy stumbled and nearly fell. "HEY!! DON'T DISTRACT THE DRIVER!!" Nao chuckled and stopped. The trip went on quite peacefully….mostly.

"This is where you've taken me." "Yup." The stood inside a large, noisy pub filled with all types of people. Suddenly, a hand descended onto Nao's shoulder. "NAO!!" The two turned to face a woman who was absolutely plastered. "Midori!!"


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to all the LUURVELY people who reviewed especially to jquackers for your help YOU ARE MY **HERO** Now, please enjoy the show.

"Midori! I thought that you didn't drink anymore!" The woman staggered and nearly fell over. "I don't. This*hic* is water*hic*" Nao sighed and dragged Midori over to a nearby table. Reaching the table, she turned at the sound of a commotion behind her. Nao watched in slow motion as a thug flew through the air and crashed into a wall. Turning her head in the direction from with he'd flown, she saw Akira dusting her hands off.

Akira trotted over to where the man lay groaning. "So," she said sarcastically. "Was flight really as gorgeous as it looked?" The man just groaned once more and then fainted. "Tch." Akira turned away and sweatdropped as she realized that everyone was staring at her. Rolling her eyes, she shot her audience a glare. A flurry of sound was heard as everyone hurried to escape the glare. Akira scoffed in scorn and started towards where Nao was sitting with her "friend".

Nao gawked at Akira. _**Wow...No wonder everyone at the castle avoids him.**_ "Hey Nao*hic* is that your*hic* boyfriend? He's*hic* hot. Can*hic* I have him?" Nao elbowed Midori in the ribs. "He's not my boyfriend...yet and no, you can't have him. I just managed to get him to go out with me." She got up to greet Akira as her date reached the table. "Hey, Akira-kun. Nice show back there. What happened?"

The redhead was both amused and astounded to see her date turn a deep red and turn away. "It was...nothing. Nothing at all." Nao stepped up to Akira and opened her mouth to tease the truth out of the boy when a more or less sober Midori stepped in. "Hey Nao. Aren't you going to introduce me to your date here?"

Akira grimaced and wrinkled her nose as the smell of beer assaulted her senses. Deciding to ignore the smell, she examined the newcomer. She guessed the woman was probably in her twenties, with long reddish hair tied in a messy ponytail,and fox-like eyes. Akira decided the the woman was probably a thief or pickpocket of sometime, until she saw the barely visible tattoo peeking out of her collar.

"OMG, you're the Thief Lord?!" Midori and Nao both turned to look at Akira. The boy had a look of shock upon his face. "Yeah, what else could she be?"

Akira stared in disbelief at Midori. "But...but...she...I...it..." Nao sighed and pulled down Midori's collar to reveal the tattoo. "Look carefully, Akira. For someone who's so hot, you're not very bright."Akira's face flushed bright red at Nao's words and muttered something under her breath.

Nao watched as Akira leaned forward to examine the intricate tattoo on Midori's neck. The boy frowned and pulled away. "It's real. She's really the Thief Lord." Nao pouted at Akira. "You're more interested in my best friend than you are in me?" She pretended to cry. "Ah! W-Wait, i-it's not like that. I just...You...I...Don't get it wrong. Why would I be interested in someone like her?! Give me some credit!"

Akira had a vague feeling that she'd been cheated when Nao's "tears" immediately disappeared. "Ara Akira-kun, is that a promise of your undying love towards me?" Akira blinked.** Ara...? Where have I heard THAT before?** "H-Hey, it is NOT! Stop changing my words!"

Nao chuckled silently. _**Wow, his time with Natsuki's really rubbing off on him. He sounds exactly like Natsuki. And I do believe that my time with Shizuru's rubbing off on me too. Since when did I start saying "Ara" like that...?**_

"Aa...aaa..aaaCHOO!" *Sniff* Shizuru sniffed. "Wonder who's talking about me?" Shizuru muttered. "HEY!" Shizuru yelped in shock and whirled around. "Stop muttering and start cleaning. I'm not cleaning all this by myself." Shizuru huffed and turned away from her partner in cleaning, and picked up the cloth the she had dropped.

Natsuki sighed in frustration and returned to wiping the trophy she was holding. **Why in the name of Pants was I sent to detention with this IDIOT!!! **She glanced sideways at Shizuru. **She's actually quite nice if she doesn't talk...**Her eyes seemed to grow a mind of its own as they roved down Shizuru's figure. **Wow, she really is hot, I can see why she has so many fanboys. Wait, am I falling in LOVE with her!!!**

Shizuru grimaced as she continued to rub the rust flecks from the trophy she was holding. Looking over at the boy behind her, she was astounded to see the boy hitting his head with a trophy cup. After a second of staring, she hurried to stop him. Grabbing the cup, she gently pried it from the emerald-eyed boy's hands. "What on earth do you think you're doing?!"

Natsuki stared at Shizuru blearily for a moment and then fainted dead away. "Aaahh!! Why me?!" She stared at the fallen boy for a second and then sighed and bent to start pulling him to the infirmary. "I swear, I being way too nice for my liking." Shizuru muttered.

Natsuki woke in a large bed. "What on earth am I doing here?" Touching the bandages on her head, she frowned. "And what on earth are these bandages for?!" "Ara ara, you're awake already. Youko-san said that it would be at least another hour before you woke up." "Eeeehhh!!!"

**CUUUUTTE!!!! **Shizuru's mind practically screamed. The boy's expression was just too cute to be described. "Is that all you have to say to someone who just rescued you?" Natsuki frowned. "Wait, you rescued me? Why did I have to be rescued and where am I?" Shizuru sipped at a cup of tea. "One,yes. Two, you were in danger of suffering a concussion, and three, you're in the infirmary."

Natsuki flopped back onto her pillows. "This place isn't all that bad," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe I should hurt myself and come here more often." She heard a muffled noise and sat up to stare at her "savior". "Are you LAUGHING?!"

Shizuru's entire body shook with the effort to muffle her laughter. Finally, she gave up and just let it out. At last, the laughter died away and she sat up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Sorry," she hiccuped. "But what you said was just too funny." Natsuki looked at her strangely. "Alright then, but I don't believe that it was all that funny."

They looked at each other. "So," said Natsuki. "No hard feelings anymore?" Shizuru nodded in agreement. "Absolutely." The two sat in silence for a while. "I hear that your friend's going out with my maid." "Yeah, sh-**he** was blackmailed into doing it." Shizuru looked at the boy curiously, but let it go.

Meanwhile...

Akira's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Why on earth is it always me?" Akira asked to nobody in particular. She couldn't believe that she had let Nao challenge Midori to a drinking competition. Akira wasn't sure why Nao had challenged somebody to a drinking competition when she herself couldn't even hold her beer. Sighing, she looked down at Nao who was sleeping on her lap. "What am I going to do with you, Yuuki?"

Nao feigned slumber as she lay in Akira's lap, pondering his words. _**Wonder if I should be waking up any time soon. **_Suddenly, she felt something soft and warm brush her cheek. Akira, it seemed, had leaned down to give a soft kiss. _**OMG, AKIRA KISSED ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! HE KISSED ME!!! Okay, okay, calm down. I behaving like one of his fangirls. OMG HE KISSED ME!!!**_

HAHAHAHAHAHA

What's gonna happen next, Keep on reading to find out~ 3Q~


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks once more to all those who reviewed. I'm on vacation right now so I'll probably be able to update more often.

_**OMG, AKIRA KISSED ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! HE KISSED ME!!! Okay, okay, calm down. I behaving like one of his fangirls. OMG HE KISSED ME!!!**_ It took Nao all of her self-control not to jump up and kiss Akira back. _**NOO!!! Nao, you got to play it cool. Just...calm down. Take deep breathes and calm down.**_ So saying, she slowly drifted back to sleep.

Akira leaned back, being careful not to make any movements that might possibly disturb Nao. Taking a deep shuddering breath, she tried to banish the blush that was threatening to cover her face. Even though it was too dark for anyone to possibly see, Akira wasn't sure that she wanted to run the risk of Nao waking up and seeing her blush.

"I saw that..." Akira froze when she heard the sing-song voice. She turned slowly to look at Midori. "S-Saw what?" Midori grinned and slung an arm around Akira's neck. "Aaw, Don't worry kid, we've all fallen for Nao at sometime or other. It's part of her natural charm." Akira felt a sudden surge of burning jealousy rush through her. **What the hell am I feeling jealous for?! She doesn't belong to me! **_But you wish that she could..._said a little voice in the back of her head.

"Sooo," Akira returned her attention to Midori. "So what?" The redheaded woman rolled her eyes. "So when are you going to tell her?" she hissed. Akira glared at her. "And what makes you think that I'm going to tell her?"

Midori looked critically at the boy sitting in front of her. **My God, does he really think that I'm that stupid?** "Well," said Midori, stretching lazily. "If you're not going to confess any time soon..." She rummaged around for a bit and scribbled a note onto a piece of scrap paper. "You can take this to my girlfriend for me!"

Akira lifted an eyebrow and took the paper. "Hey hey hey, nooo peeking. This is private." Akira looked at Midori, at the paper, at Midori, at the paper.

"What are _you_ looking at?"

"...You have a girlfriend?"

"Of course I do. Who do you think could resist my charm?"

"What fool pities you enough to actually date you? I'd like to meet them."

Midori glared at Akira.

"What's that s'posed to mean?"

"So I just have to give this to your girlfriend, right?"

"OY, don't just change the subject like that!"

"I don't believe you've told me your girlfriend's name yet."

"HEY, STOP IGNORING ME!!"

"Never mind, I'll just go and ask who's dating a redheaded idiot."

"That could very well be you, you know..."

"I don't believe I like you very much."

Midori grinned like a maniac. "Excellent! I like your attitude, boy." Akira groaned and buried her head in her hands. **I hate my life.** "Sweet Pantyhose, look at the time." Akira felt herself being hauled up by the neck by Midori and frog marched to the door. "You should be going. Get the message to my girlfriend and I'll know if you don't."Akira dug her heels in and turned to face Midori.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Is it really wise to leave Nao like that?"

The two turned to look at Nao who was still sleeping. Midori grinned and pushed Akira out the door of the pub. "Don't worry about her. She does stuff like this all the time."

Akira shrugged and left. **I hope that she's telling the truth or I'm going to be in BIIG trouble when Nao wakes up. **She stopped in her tracks then turned around and walked back towards the pub.** No way I'm taking THAT risk. Nao's coming with me.**

Several minutes later...

**Why on earth did I want to take her with me?** Akira grunted as she plodded along down the street with Nao on her back. "Christ, but your heavy as hell." Akira muttered as she stopped to adjust Nao's position on her back. She knew very well that she could have used her powers to return but a small part of her liked the warmth of Nao upon her back.** Dear God, I really am falling for her.**

Nao moaned and opened her eyes to find herself bumping along on someone's back. "So your awake. You sure took your time in doing that." _**Akira! What is he- Oh, wait. I fell asleep, good thing that he didn't leave me behind or he would SO regret it.**_

"Hey Akira-kun. What happened?"

"You fell asleep because you drank too much. Why on earth did you challenge Midori to a drinking contest when you can't even hold your beer?! Do you know how much trouble you caused for me?!"

Nao blinked. _**This is the longest sentence that he's ever spoken to me. Not bad, I'm making progress.**_

"Why thank you. I don't suppose you did anything to me when I was asleep?"

"Eeeh! How did you- I mean what makes you think that I did anything?!"

Nao grinned and blew lightly in Akira's ear.

"Aah! D-Don't do that. It's not my fault if I drop you!"

Nao ignored Akira's warning and continued to tease the boy.

"I'm warning you!"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh for the love of-" Akira tried to drop Nao only to find that the redhead had locked her arms around Akira's neck way too tightly to be dropped. "....Let me go."

Nao chuckled. "Why on earth would I do that." She heard the boy growl. "Besides, you haven't told me what you did to me when I was asleep." She watched as Akira's neck turned an interesting shade of red. "...I told you. NOTHING." Nao rolled her eyes. "Riiight, and I'm the queen of the world. Tell me what you did or I'm going to sell your secret all over the castle."

Akira groaned in frustration. If she didn't tell, her secret was going to be out. If she did tell...Nao was going to tease her until the day that she died. It was a matter of being teased by everyone in the castle or being teased by Nao. She prefered the latter. Taking a deep breath, "I...got...pushed and....accidently k...k....k...k...k...ki...ki...kissed you on the cheek."

Nao smirked and twined her arms around Akira neck, nipping lightly at the boy's neck._** Ha, "got pushed" indeed. At least he had the guts to tell me about the kiss. **_She was promptly dropped to the ground. "FOR THE LOVE OF PANTYHOSE, STOP TORTURING ME!!" wailed Akira loudly. Nao looked at the green-haired boy coyly from a rather...suggestive position on the ground. "Torture, eh?"

Akira turned red at Nao's tone of voice. "NO, I mean, that, don't DO stuff like that. People might get the wrong idea." Nao stood and sidled up to Akira. "Well," she said, sidling up to Akira. "I'm hoping that someone will get the right idea..." She leaned in, her lips a scant inch from Akira's own.

Akira took a deep breath. **Oh God, this is so TEMPTING. Does she even know how torturous this is for me? **She gathered her already scattered senses and forced herself to take a step back from Nao. "I-I'm sorry. I can't do this."

Nao was thunderstruck. _**B-But why? I thought that he...**_She took a careful look at Akira's figure. The boy's hunched figure, turned head and clenched fist didn't say that he didn't love her. More that he COULDN'T love her. _**He's hiding something. And I swear that I'm going to find out what it is.**_

Akira was absolutely miserable but was determined to hide it. "Let's move, it looks like it's going to start raining." Without looking back at Nao, she continued to move towards the castle. Behind her, she felt Nao move to follow . **Why does my life suck so badly?**

Meanwhile...

"Ew, you like drinking this stuff? It looks like swamp water." "Try it, you haven't even tasted it yet." Natsuki scrunched her nose and looked at the cup of untouched tea that she was holding in her hands. **Somehow I doubt that I'll like it... **Taking a deep breath, she took a miniscule sip of the liquid.

Shizuru stared intently at her former enemy. "Well, how is it?" She watched as a sea of emotions ran over Natsuki's face. Tentative, thoughtful, amazed and then... "Wow, it actually tastes really good!!" Shizuru had to giggle at the expression on the boy's face. _**He's so CUTE!**_

A tug on her sleeve brought her attention back to Natsuki. The moment she did so, Shizuru was immediately assaulted by a pair of merciless puppy dog eyes. Ruby collided with emerald and Shizuru felt herself drowning in the depths of the boy's gaze. "Can I have some more tea please?" _**OH MY GOD!! HE'S JUST LIKE A PUPPY DOG!!! I JUST WANT TO SQUEEZE HIM!!**_

Natsuki watched eagerly as the tea was poured into her cup. "YAY!" She downed the drink in one go. "OMG, IT'S F***KING HOT!!"

Shizuru grabbed Natsuki's face to stop the boy from squirming in pain. What she didn't expect was to find the boy's face so close to her own. Feeling mischievous, she brushed Natsuki's lips with her own. "There, better?" Her only answer was the boy's incredibly red face.**Why on earth does life have to be so complicated?**

More ShizNat and what was in the note that Midori gave Akira?

Keep reading to find out~


	11. Chapter 11

Detective Nao!! Enjoy!

Akira slunk down the castle hallways. **Youko. Works in the infirmary. Well that should be easy enough to find. **Stopping in front of the infirmary door, she entered and looked around. "Hello there, can I help you?" Akira whirled around. "What the-"

A woman stood there looking at her quizzically. "Can I help you?"

Akira flushed when she realized that she had been staring like an idiot. **This woman looks a little too…normal to be that woman's GF. Better ask. **"Yeah, are you dating a red-headed idiot who goes by the name of Midori?" **Okaaay, that sounded way better in my mind…**

"Yes. I take it you've met her?" Akira grimaced. "Unfortunately. She has a note for you." She held out the piece of paper. "Thank you." Youko smiled at Akira. "Whatever." The green-haired girl slouched out of the room.

Youko watched Akira depart. "Interesting. Midori doesn't send these things often." Opening the note, she smiled as she read its contents. She chuckled. "Just like Midori. She just has to play matchmaker for every other possible couple that comes along. I better help her." Walking over to the window, she looked out at the clear blue sky. _Aah, it's so nice to be young._

Nao scowled as she walked down the hall. Akira had been avoiding her lately and that made her unhappy. VERY unhappy. This made her even more determined to find out the reason of the boy's rejection. "Hmph. It's time for (Insert dramatic music and drumbeats here) DETECTIVE NAO!!" Jumping into a nearby broom closet, she changed into a Sherlock Holmes style outfit and….found that she was locked in. "HEY, SOMEBODY GET ME OUTTA HERE!!"

Once there was an idiot cosplaying in a Sherlock Holmes outfit…Natsuki waved to catch Shizuru's attention as she ran towards the other girl. Granted that she was still angry at Shizruru for stealing a kiss from her but her anger had been appeased by a strange substance that Shizuru called mayonnaise, so all was well. "Ara, my Natsuki seems happy to see me."

Natsuki skidded on a wet patch of ground and crashed into a wall. "Ara, is Natsuki okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine and who are you calling my Natsuki?!"

Shizuru smiled and patted Natsuki on the head. "Ara, you of course."

"Don't call me that!!"

"Oh? Hmm, how about my little mayo-pup then?"

"That's even worse!!"

"OH, HOW HORRIBLE!! MY NATSUKI HATES ME!!" Shizuru broke into loud sobs (fake of course). Natsuki began to panic. She was hearing a lot of angry mutters, mostly directed at her.

"H-Hey, don't be like that. I don't hate you, just the nicknames you're giving me."

"OH, NATSUKI THINKS THAT I GIVE HER BAD NICKNAMES!!*SOB**SOB*"

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!! I'LL BE YOUR LITTLE MAYO-PUP!! STOP CRYING ALREADY!!"

Shizuru's "tears" instantly vanished. "Ara, thank you, my little mayo-pup." Natsuki blushed furiously. "Whatever." They continued on their way to class.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!"

Shizuru looked at Natsuki innocently as she continued to cling to Natsuki arm.

"Ara, whatever does Natsuki mean?"

"Your clinging to my arm. Let go."

*Pout* "But Natsuki's so clingable." Shizuru whined.

"If you stop clinging to my arm, I'll buy you some tea flavored ice cream."

"YAY!!" Shizuru let go of Natsuki's arm for exactly one second. Then she grabbed it again.

"HEY! I thought we had an agreement."

"Ah, but my Natsuki didn't say for how long."

"AARGH! You're impossible!"

"Why thank you!"

"THAT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT!!"

"Uh," The happy couple turned around to look at Akira. "Am I disturbing something?" Natsuki tried in vain to pry Shizuru's arm off. "NO. You're not disturbing anything. In fact, you can now help me get HER off." Akira raised an eyebrow. "You look quite happy." Natsuki glared. "Just get her off. Or else I'm telling your secret to the school."

Akira looked away. "It doesn't make a difference." The bitter tone in her voice was enough to make Shizuru look at her too. "Did something happen between you and Nao?" Akira gawked at Shizuru in shock. "How the HELL did you know THAT?!" Shizuru shrugged. "Nao told me. She was really looking forward to it. It's quite sad that it didn't go well."

Akira looked at Shizuru for a second. "Hmm, I suppose that you know that Natsuki likes you too, then." Natsuki glared at Akira. "I DO NOT!!" Shizuru pretended to start crying again. "How could my little mayo-pup be so mean?" Natsuki turned away and scoffed. "Don't expect me to fall for that again. You can cry all you like, I don't give a damn."

Natsuki cringed as a large group of fanboys gave her venomous glares. "Fine, stop crying. I like you, happy now?" Shizuru glomped Natsuki. "YAY!!" **God, if you're listening or watching now, I'm begging you. PLEASE, stop this torture.**

Nao sat on a bucket trying to hammer the door open with a mop. "Why on earth did I ever pick a broom closet to do this in?" Suddenly, the door opened and a ray of sunlight shot in. "AAARGH!! THE LIGHT!! MUST NOT GO NEAR THE LIGHT!!"

"Cut the drama or I'll lock you in again." Nao looked up into the light. "Chie!" Chie grinned and helped Nao to her feet. "So, how did your date with Akira go?" "That's why I'm wearing this. Now, that kid has a secret and I want you to find it out. He actually resisted my charm?! Can you believe that?!"

Chie sweat-dropped. "Ah, I see. How..uh..unusual for someone to not fall for your charm. Me and Aoi will do our best to find out he-HIS secret." She cursed inwardly at her mistake. _Kinda stupid since I already know "his" secret… _Grinning at Nao, she waved and walked off quickly.

Nao stroked her chin as she watched Chie walk off. "Hmm, suspicious, VEEERY suspicious. This case is mine!" Straightening her detective outfit…and avoiding the closet, she snuck after Chie, determined to find out the truth.

DUNDUNDUNDUUUN!!!

Does our beloved redhead find out the truth about Akira? Will Natsuki meet her Maker in the hands of Shizuru's constant teasing? And will Mai Mikoto and Aoi finally show up in the next chapter? Read to find out, on the next episode of "RUBIES AND EMERALDS"!! ARIGATO FOR READING!!


	12. Chapter 12

Hello to all my beautiful fans out there. Sorry for not updating in such a long time but my life's been kinda crazy lately. In short, it's been kinda hard for me to think up anything for this story. I'll still do my best to update but it might be kinda hard.

For those out there who are currently in 9th grade and about to go to high school, I think you understand…I hope. Anyways, thanks for all the support you've given me and…uh…just to be fair….I think you should know that Chapter 11 was written by my cousin. Not me.

She's my favorite cousin and sometimes gives me ideas on my stories so I thought that it would be fairest that I let her have a part in my writing. A sorta B-day present for her. THANKS ANYWAYS!!

P.S. Oh yeah, I'm currently working on a sorta KyubeixOtae story for those who like that.


	13. Chapter 13

HOOORRN~

Chie sweatdropped as she watched Nao tail her out the corner of her eye.

"Uh, Nao? I know that you're following me."

"...Shit."

"Care to explain why? I know I'm extremely charming and devilishly handsome, but you already got Akira."

"I told you that the date was a disaster!"

"So why aren't you trailing him?"

Nao gave Chie a don't-you-know-anything look. "You think that he's gonna tell me?"

Chie opened her mouth, then closed it. "Good point. But that doesn't explain why you're following me." Nao pressed herself to Chie. "Now now Chie-kun. I know you know something that I don't and I have a pretty good idea that that something is about my date. So spill."

Chie laughed nervously and quickly freed herself from Nao's grasp. "Hahahahaha. Look at the time, I really must be going. See you." With that, Chie quickly walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner. Nao looked around. "There's still another hour until class!" she yelled after Chie.

"OMG AKIRA-KUN, WE LOVE YOU!!" The series of muffled snickers that followed the statement were instantly muffled as Akira shot a killer glare at the laughers. Hefting her lance, she charged at the target.....and a solid hit. The fangirls hanging around swooned.

"...I guess that I shouldn't say anything about that."

"Mmm."

"Cool."

Natsuki looked at Akira out the corner of her eye. "So." Akira flicked a sideways glance at her friend. "So what?" "You wanna tell me what happened on The Date?" Natsuki made air quotations with her fingers around the last two words. "No." The blue haired girl rolled her eyes. "Selfish." "Shut up."

"OI, YOU TWO!! LESS TALK MORE WALK!!" Akira watched with raised brows as Natsuki leapt a foot into the air from her position on the horse. "Come on, let's move before he blows a blood vessel." A recovered Natsuki looked confusedly at Akira. "Our chatting shouldn't do that." "No, but add that with the fangirls and it should do the trick." "Oh." "Yeah, oh."

An hour later...

Natsuki hobbled up the hill, the **very** steep hill to the castle. "I don't suppose you'll want to help me?" Akira stopped and waited for Natsuki to catch up. "No." Natsuki glared daggers at her friend. "I'll get you back for this. Just you wait." The green haired girl scoffed. "Yeah right."

After a few more moments of watching Natsuki struggle up the hill, Akira rolled her eyes. "God you're slow. I'm going. See you." Natsuki's head snapped up. "Hey, wait for-" A whirl of black wind surrounded Akira and she was gone. "-me."

Landing in front of her door, Akira yelped in shock. "Nao! What are you doing here?" The red haired girl pushed herself away from the door. Walking up to Akira, she promptly backed Akira against a wall. "W-What do you want?" Nao glared at Akira, her green eyes murderous. "We need to talk."

Nao glared up at Akira. _**For someone so gorgeous, he can really get on my nerves.**_ "About what?" Nao rolled her eyes and grabbed the boy's collar. Locking her steely gaze with Akira's nervous one, Nao pushed Akira against the wall hard. "Feelings." The girl was rewarded by a first row view of the production, "Surprised Akira." "Huh?"

"Feelings." Nao repeated. "Let's have a nice talk about feelings." The boy looked annoyed. "_**Whose**_ feelings? Yours, mine, ours, who's?" Nao pursed her lips. Loosening her grip on Akira's collar, she idly traced circles on her captive's stomach. "Weelll," she said, studying a red tint that appeared on her captive's face. "I think we both know my feelings..."

Akira looked down at the girl that held her captive with raised brows. "And what are those?" Nao smirked. "That you really turn me on." Akira felt her cheeks flare an even brighter shade of red. "...Pervert." "Why thank you. But we're here to discuss your feelings." "EEEHH?!?!" **This must be what Natsuki meant by getting me back. She obviously used Nao to get me back. **

"Why on earth do you need to what my feelings are?!" Nao raised her eyebrows at Akira's reaction. "Why so nervous, Akira-kun? You got secrets?" The boy scowled. "No."

"So you deny that you like me."

".....Yes."

Nao sighed at the boy's stubborn behavior and resisted the urge to knead her forehead in frustration.

Akira glared down at Nao. "Can you let me go yet?" Nao sighed in frustration. "Why are you so stubborn?" "Who's being stubborn?!" The two growled simutaneously and sparks practically flew between them. Suddenly, Nao nodded. "Fine, I'll let you go." Akira blinked in surprise. "Really? You're really going to let me go?"

Nao suppressed the near overwhelming urge to roll her eyes at the obvious surprise in the boy's tone of voice. "Of course I am. You don't need to sound that surprised." Akira looked slightly sheepish. "Well, I was sort of expecting some sort of trick. I'll be going then." Nao tightened her grip on Akira's collar. "But before you go, I have one more thing."

Akira looked down in slight annoyance at Nao. "What is it?" "This." The next thing she knew, Nao had wrapped both her hands in Akira's collar and locked their lips together in a searing kiss. Akira froze in shock. **Nononononono. Must not give in. But this feels so...so right. Ugh, just stop being so stubborn for once Akira. **Throwing caution to the winds, Akira gave in and kissed back.

OMGOMGOMG**OH. MY. GOD. **What's gonna happen now? Nao kissing Akira, Akira kissing back, what's gonna happen to poor Natsuki after Akira left her, and what's gonna become of this make-out session? Wait up for what's gonna happen in the next chapter. Shiznat Maikoto ChieAoi to come~


	14. Chapter 14

Yeah…uh..sorry if said fanfic has WAAAY too little ShizNat in it. My apologies.

While Akira was having a steamy hot make-out session in front of her room, she seemed to have forgotten about a certain green-eyed page, who was fuming at being left behind. "AKIRA YOU IDIOT!!"

Natsuki flopped onto her back. "I can't do this," she gasped. "It's over. I'll never make it up this hill. IT'S OVERRRRR~" "Ara, who would've thought you were such a drama king?" Natsuki shielded her eyes from the sun. "Shizuru? What are you doing here?" The girl tilted her head to one side and put a finger on her chin. "Hmm, I think I came down here to investigate." "Investigate?"

"Well, when a few of the maids started talking about the crazy-but-cute boy who was crawling up the hill, I thought I might as well go see what it was about." Natsuki looked offended. "Crazy?!" Shizuru carefully arranged her skirts beneath her and sat next to Natsuki's head. "But cute and would you mind _not _looking up my skirt?" "Huh?!" Natsuki's face flushed red. "H-Hey, I was NOT looking up your skirt!"

Shizuru gave Natsuki a coy glance. "Oh? Then why are you drooling?" Natsuki immediately scrubbed furiously at her chin. "…You tricked me." Shizuru giggled. "Yes, and I do believe that's the second time you've fallen for it." A confused look settled over Natsuki's face. "The second time?" Shizuru waited as her companion thought. 1…2…3….ding ding ding! "Oh, I remember!"

Shizuru gave a wistful inward sigh. _**He's so cute.**_ Natsuki frowned as she looked as her companion who had gone to LaLa Land. "Shizuru? Are you okay?" Said individual quickly snapped out of her stupor and gave Natsuki a dazzling smile. "I'm fine, Natsuki-kun. Are you able to stand? I believe it's time for your next lesson." "Oh God, you're right." With Shizuru's help, Natsuki managed to make her shaky way up the hill. Shizuru looked over at her companion as they reached the top of the hill. "By the way, did you hear about your friend?"

"My friend? You mean Akira? What about he…him?" Natsuki cursed inwardly at her slip. Shizuru looked at her oddly, but let it pass. "He's apparently making out with Nao." Natsuki promptly lost her already very shaky balance and fell back down the slope. Shizuru watched Natsuki's descent. "Oh dear. Was I not supposed to tell him?"

Several minutes later…

Natsuki had decided to ditch class in order to get things straight. Also because it seemed that she wouldn't exactly be sprinting up the hill any time soon. She hated Mathematics anyways. "Okay," she said, seating herself in front of Shizuru. "What's this about? AKIRA kissing NAO?!?! No way. As far as I know, they didn't even have a proper date." "Incorrect, Natsuki-kun." "AAAH!"

Chie popped out of the bushed beside the two. "Wow, you sure are daring. Never figured you'd put the moves on Shizuru-sama this quickly." Natsuki turned red and started stuttering while Shizuru smiled benignly. "W-Who said that I was putting the moves on her? G-Get your mind outta the gutter!" Shizuru turned her face to one side. "Ara, was it not Natsuki-kun who dragged me behind this bush all of a sudden? What were you planning to do to me in the first place, Na-tsu-ki?"

The red-eyed girl began drawing closer to Natsuki. "I wasn't…it won't…what are you…" Natsuki's stuttered and broken sentences faltered as Shizuru drew even closer to her. Like a homing missile, Natsuki's eyes locked onto the other girl's cherry-red lips. **Oh God, they look so tempting. NOOO!! MUST NOT GIVE IN!!! EVIL!! EVIL!! WILL KEEP MIND OUT OF GUTTER!!! **With a supreme effort of will, Natsuki pried her gaze from Shizuru's lips, only to have them land on the girl's extremely well proportioned chest. The green-eyed girl's face turned so red that it was bordering on purple. So, Natsuki did the only thing that she could afford to in the current situation. She fainted.

The duo looked down at the unconscious Natsuki. Chie sighed and exchanged glances with Shizuru. "I'll take him to the infirmary?" Shizuru nodded. "I'll help." Chie nodded and adjusted her glasses. "I'll grab the legs, you can take the arms." Sighing, the two grabbed hold of their unconscious companion and began the long trek up the hill and to the infirmary.

"Maaiii~ I'm hungry~"

"Mikoto, you just ate."

"But I'm still hungry~"

Mai sighed. Her ever hungry companion was poking about in a storage cupboard, hoping to stumble upon something edible. "Mikoto, I've told you before, you can't keep eating everything in the castle!" "Hey Mai." The cat-like girl held up a struggling rat by its tail and examined it with a bit of drool coming from her mouth. "Can you cook this for me to eat? I think I could find a couple more." The busty redhead looked mildly disgusted, then sighed. _Oh well, it's better then having her eat the castle supplies. _Taking the rat from Mikoto, she began the tiresome job of cooking it. "YAY!! I LOVE MAI!!" Mai gave the cat-girl a wry smile. _God, this is so disgusting…oh well, at least Mikoto's happy._

"I seem to spend most of time here in the infirmary." Natsuki reached out absent-mindedly and grabbed a random cup of tea that sat on a nearby desk. "Why is it always me?!" She angrily downed the cup of tea in one gulp. Shizuru looked closely at the cup of tea in Natsuki's hand. "Ara, I think that Natsuki took my tea. Natsuki hentai! Non-direct kiss!" Natsuki flushed red and nearly dropped the cup of tea in her hand. "Ah!" Instinctively, Shizuru grabbed hold of Natsuki's hand to steady the precious tea.

"CHANCE!!" Chie whipped out a sheet of parchment and almost instantly, a colored image of the two holding hand and staring into each other's eyes was reproduced on the parchment. After a moment's inspection, Chie erased the tea cup from sight. Smirking, she waved it at the surprised duo. "Heh, I think…a few copies of this should sell quite well about the castle."

Natsuki leapt out of bed and grabbed Chie by the collar. "Hey." Chie sweat-dropped, as a murderous aura surrounded her friend. "You really wanna die _that_ badly, eh? Want me to fulfill your wish for you?" Chie chuckled nervously. "Now, now, Natsuki-kun. Let's talk this over peacefully, shall we?" Natsuki growled. "What if I don't want to talk it over peacefully?" The bespectacled girl looked about for help, her gaze landing on Shizuru. "Ah, Shizuru-sama. Are you opposed to this picture being spread about the castle?"

Shizuru covered a smile with her hand as she watched Natsuki leap out of bed and begin threatening Chie. The flustered yet murderous expression on the boy's face was just too adorable for words. "Of course not, our love is nothing to be ashamed about. Isn't that right, Na-tsu-ki?" She watched as Natsuki dropped Chie to the ground and began imitating a fish out of water. "Sh-sh-sh-SHIZURU!!!!" Shizuru fought down the urge to giggle and adopted a hurt expression. "Ara, does Natsuki not acknowledge the love between us? I'm so hurt."

She watched as the now flustered Natsuki started waving her arms about and denying the charge. "Ara, Natsuki deserves to be punished for hurting me like that. How should I punish you?" The red-eyed seductress adopted a thoughtful expression. "Oh I know!" Shizuru slowly twined her arms about the boy's neck, enjoying the boy's increasingly red face as she drew closer…and …closer…and…

HEY!!! KINO HERE!! HOPE YOU FOLKS LIKE CLIFFHANGERS ：D!!!

Natsuki: Hey! What the hell are doing?!

Kino: I thought you would want some action between you and Shizuru. Want me to make the two of you have hot sex?

Natsuki: Cool-WAIT A MINUTE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!?! (pulls out guns) GET THE F#K OVER HERE!!

Kino: Over and out.


	15. Chapter 15

HELLO PEOPLE, HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CLIFFY~

Kino: Okay, after that terrifying situation where I nearly got shot…

Natsuki: AND YOU'RE LUCKY THAT SHIZURU INTERVENED!!!

Shizuru smiles from where she was cuddling Natsuki.

Shizuru: Now, now, Nat-chan. Don't kill Kino-san.

Natsuki: Hmph.

Kino: (smirks at Natsuki) You heard your girlfriend. Don't kill the nice author.

Natsuki: (breaks free and whips out guns) ALRIGHT!! THAT'S IT!! YOU ARE GOING _**DOWN!!**_

Kino: o_O Uuh…Gotta run! Byeee~ Enjoy the story!

Shizuru drew closer…and closer….and planted a kiss on Natsuki's nose. "Wha?" Natsuki froze at the unexpected contact, and then scrambled away, falling. A bright blush wrote its way across her cheek. On one side, Chie looked rather disappointed. "Aww, I was expecting a hot make-out session." Natsuki glared at the flirtatious girl. ". NOW! BEFORE I KILL YOU AND EAT YOU!!!"

Shizuru giggled at Natsuki's expression. "Aww, is my little MayoPup disappointed?" She watched as the boy's face turned all the redder and he began stuttering. _**KAWAII~**_ "D-DON'T BE AN IDIOT!! Why the hell would I be disappointed?!" Shizuru pretended to cry. "Natsuki doesn't want to kiss me? Does this mean that Natsuki thinks I'm ugly?" The brunette sniffled loudly for extra effect.

Natsuki face-faulted as Shizuru began to 'cry', flustered, she began babbling. "Nonono, don't cry. I don't think you're ugly. It's just that you're only a friend and…" To her shock and horror, Natsuki saw the brunette's shoulders begin to shake and a tear trickle down the side of her face. **OHMYDEARGODIMADEHERCRY. WHAT DO I DO, WHAT DO I DO?!?! **Little did she know that Shizuru's actions were only because she was laughing so hard.

Our favorite blunette was currently three seconds away from losing her mind about how to stop Shizuru 'crying'. **Search…reason of shizuru crying…Results…two results…ugly…refusal to kiss. Okaaaay…so she's crying because she thinks that I think that she's ugly…I think. Aaaand because she thinks that I think that I think I don't want to kiss her.** Natsuki mulled over this for a bit. **This would mean…OMG, DOES THIS MEAN I HAVE TO KISS HER TO STOP HER CRYING?!**

"MAI!! FOOD!!" Mai grunted slightly as she was tackled by an enthusiastic Mikoto. The cat-girl rubbed her face happily in Mai's ample chest. "M-Mikoto!! How many times have I told you not to do that?" Mai blushed furiously as she attempted to peel her friend off her. Mikoto pouted cutely. "But I like Mai's chest. It's so big and soft. AND IT'S ALL MINE!!" "MIKOTO!!"

"Now this is what I call the start of a beautiful relationship." Mai turned around with Mikoto still clinging to her breasts. "Chie!" The girl smirked and displayed a picture of the two of them. "How well do you think this will sell?" Mai's jaw dropped. Then she flushed furiously. "CHIE!! What on earth did you draw us doing?! And why are we both naked?! Put that thing away before Mikoto sees!! I'm still trying to explain that last picture you drew of us to her!!"

"Mai~ why are we naked on that picture? And why am I grabbi-" Mai promptly covered Mikoto's mouth and eyes, blushing furiously. "I'LL TELL YOU WHEN YOU'RE OLDER!!" "You said the same thing last time," whined Mikoto. "I wanna know now." Mai glared murderously at Chie. "This is totally your fault," hissed the redhead. "Now you take that thing and burn it or I'll burn _**you**_ with it!!!" Chie nodded frantically. Mai dragged Mikoto off, shooting a final glare at Chie.

Chie right about now T^T _My beautiful picture…_

Natsuki had started hyperventilating. **I can't let her cry like this…but I can't kiss her just like that! That would make me some sorta pervert. I'm a girl too! But we're friends, right? What's a little kiss between friends? Hahahaha..ha….haaa.** She cast a sideways glance at Shizuru, who had somehow managed to continue her act, and squared her shoulders. **Just one kiss. That's all it'll take. Be a man..er..woman, Natsuki. Just do it.**

Shizuru continued her act as she had a pretty good idea how Natsuki was going to solve the problem of her 'crying'. Sure enough, a few seconds later, she felt a pair of hands gently grab hold of her shoulders and turn her around. Raising her tearstained face, she looked sadly at Natsuki and sniffed. _**Hey, I'm pretty good at this acting thing! **_The boy took a deep breath and leaning forward, captured Shizuru's lips with his own.

Natsuki held the kiss for exactly three seconds and then pulled away, flushing bright red. "Uuh…Don't cry." **WHAT THE HELL NATSUKI?! AT LEAST YOU SHOULD HAVE APOLOGIZED!! **"I'm…uh…sorry about..uh…making you cry. C-Can I make it up to you?" **Well, at least that sounded better than 'uh don't cry'! **To her surprise, Shizuru smiled. "Eh?"

Shizuru smiled, concealing the fact that her heart was still hammering loudly in her chest from that simple kiss. "Thank you for your apology, Natsuki-kun. As for making it up to me…how about a date?" "EEEHH?!"

Natsuki's mind went into overload. **Okay Natsuki, she just asked you out. WHAT THE HELL DO I DO? Should I refuse? NOO, I don't want her to start crying again! I would have to kiss her again! Not that that's a bad thing….it's just that- ARGH!! Back to original subject!!!**

While Natsuki was having this charming little mental battle, Shizuru was closely examining the blunette's facial expressions. Shock…frustration…thoughtful…happy….frustration again…It was like watching a show. "Natsuki, are you okay?" The boy broke out of his contemplation session. Slowly, he turned towards SHizuru and gave her a dazzling smile. "It would be an honor to go out with you, Shizuru. I'll get in touch with you later about the time. Seeya." Giving Shizuru a casual salute, Natsuki ran off, leaving a rather shocked Shizuru blushing in the infirmary.

Running toward her room, Natsuki skidded to a halt just short of turning the corner. Looking carefully around the corner, she watched as Nao blew Akira a parting kiss and then sauntered off. Waiting until Nao was gone, Natsuki loped up to Akira. "Hey, thanks for ditching me on that slope for a make-out session. Some friend you are." Akira looked away, blushing horribly. "S-Shut up."

Akira looked at her friend strangely. "Why are you so happy?" Natsuki hummed. "I'm not. Why would you think that?" Akira sighed exasperatedly. "Natsuki, you're _humming._ That is just…weird." Natsuki grinned. "I gotta date with Shizuru." The green-haired girl gawked at her friend. "And you're happy about that?!"

Natsuki looked at Akira weirdly. " 'Course I am. Why shouldn't I be?" Akira grabbed Natsuki tightly by the shoulders. "For the same reasons why I'm not even thought I said yes when Nao asked me out. They haven't a clue about our real identities!" "Oh shit. We're both dead." "You got that right."

DOUBLE DATE NEXT TIME!! I hope…

Natsuki: You made Shizuru cry?!

Kino: She was only faking it!!

Natsuki: Same thing!! You are so going to pay for it.

Kino: Oh come on. You're only looking for a random excuse to beat me up.

Natsuki: HELL YEAH!!

Kino: Dear God, SHIZURU!!

Shizuru: Yes?

Kino: (shoves Natsuki) I now grant you permission to do whatever you want with this. Here. You may now start.

Shizuru: Arigato, Kino-san.

Kino: And so I live to write another day. See you soon people!!


	16. EMERGENCY SHOUTOUT

Kino here, this is URGENT!!!

Somebody, ANYBODY, please donate ideas on the date. I'm running on blanks here. Haven't a clue as what to write about.

I'm being serious here, and that's really rare for me, donate some ideas people. I need something to run with. Anything's good, just…nothing to do with insane amounts of honey, chocolate syrup, maple syrup…etc. ,skimpy pieces of lingerie and/or stripping, OKAY?!?!

I am still traumatized because that's what my cousin who is also younger than me suggested after I asked her. So, try to keep in PG13, 'kay?

Kino, over and out.


	17. Chapter 17

Domo arigato for reading. Hopefully, there will be a helluva lot of progress in this chapter. Also, thanks to all those who donated their ideas. I've done my best to link them all, or at least bits of each into something that will still make sense.

Akira: Why am I being hooked with Nao anyway?

Kino: Because I'm still mourning the loss of a yaoi relationship between you and Takumi in the original show.

Akira: …Pervert.

Kino: Hey! I'm sure that I'm not the only one! Besides, Nao didn't have a problem with it.

Nao: It was either Natsuki or Akira. I'm not sure that I want an angry Shizuru after me. (shudders) Besides, I haven't tried out Akira yet!(leers at Akira)

Akira: (blush) …Pervert.

Kino: You know you love it. Anyways, enjoy the story!

* * *

Chie made sure that no one was following her as she hurried the darkened halls of the castle at night. Ducking behind a pillar, she took another careful look around at her surroundings. "God, this is so freaky." A dark figure loomed up behind the girl. Slowly, it extended a hand and…

"So, what's the news?" Chie just managed to stifle a scream. Whipping around, she exhaled a breath of relief. "Hey, Kai." Natsuki's brother grinned, pearly-white teeth flashing in the gloom. "Hey, soo..?" Chie shrugged. "She's in. Got a date and everything." Kai grin widened. "Excellent," he breathed. "Here's your pay for keeping me updated." Coins clinked as they passed from one hand to another.

Chie smirked. "So, you going to try jumping in anytime soon?" Kai snorted. "Yeah, like's that going to work." The bespectacled girl pushed up her glasses. "Ah, wrong, you are, young grasshopper. You're not supposed to know about your beloved sibling cross-dressing to fulfill her dream of becoming a knight. There's going to be a festival to celebrate you knights coming back, correct?" Kai nodded. "Now, I'll tail them on their date and keep you updated on their positions. _You_ make an oh-so-convenient appearance and start flirting with Shizuru."

Kai frowned thoughtfully. "And then, Natsuki's bound to get jealous. Nice one, but do you think that you'll be able to keep track of them on your own?" Chie shook her head. "I've enlisted Mai and Mikoto to help me." Kai stroked his chin and smirked. "Ah, Mai. That girl has certainly got some excellent, ahem, assets." Chie nodded in return. "Yeah, her ass isn't the only thing nice about her." "So, I'll be seeing you soon then?" "Yup. Bye."

* * *

Mai grinned as she watched the two girls standing in front of her. "You two girls need the help of another girl to help you with your date with two other girls?!" No matter how many times she viewed the situation, it was still funny. Akira scowled at Mai, a reddish tinge on her cheeks. "You don't need to help if you don't want to." Natsuki elbowed her friend. "What Akira really means is 'Please help us Mai, we really need it'."

The busty redhead chuckled. "Don't worry. Of course I'll help you." Natsuki grinned in sheer relief. "Thanks Mai." Akira just grunted non-commitally. Mai laughed then switched immediately to serious mode. "Now, let's get the two of you geared up." The hapless duo gulped slightly at the expression on Mai's face as she dragged them off…TO THEIR DOOM!!!

Several minutes later, two pairs of green eyes stared intently at Mai as she looked their outfits over. After a moment, Mai sighed in exasperation. "Akira, what part of dress nicely are you not getting?" Natsuki snickered while Akira scowled and looked down at her outfit in confusion. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" The busty redhead rolled her eyes. "It's what you wear everything single day! Change."

Akira scowled and shook her head stubbornly.

"I won't."

"You will."

"I won't."

"You will."

"I won't."

"You will."

"I won't."

"You will."

"Won't!"

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"Will!"

Mai resisted the urge to stomp her foot. Suddenly, an idea hit her. "Akira." "What? I told you, I'm not chan-" Mai cut her off. "Either you change into something I approve of, or Nao can change your clothes for you later." Akira froze. Silently, she picked out a new outfit and slammed into the closet to change. Mai smirked as Natsuki looked on in bemusement. Mai:1 Akira:0.

Five minutes and two more outfits later, Mai deemed Akira ready to go. "Okay, Nao's waiting at the castle gates and Shizuru's also at the gate, just surrounded by her fangirls. Huh, good luck with that Natsuki." Natsuki growled in annoyance. Looking for something to vent her anger on, she grabbed Akira by the arm and draggd her forcefully from the room. Akira just sighed and allowed her friend to drag her along. **At least we're going in the same direction…won't make a difference…**

Nao rested against the hard wall of the gateway. _**So…slow…**_ Suddenly, she spotted Akira appear…being dragged along by Natsuki. _**What's he doing?**_ Moments later, it became quite clear as Natsuki threw his companion into the midst of the fangirls surrounding Shizuru. Nao watched in horror and amusement as the fangirls turned their attention from Shizuru onto Akira.

Natsuki grinned in satisfaction as the fangirls surrounding her date turned their attention onto Akira. "Ara…" The blunette turned to face a slightly shocked Shizuru. "Quick, let's get away before they find out it was a diversion." Grabbing Shizuru's hand, Natsuki quickly towed the girl off, missing the small blush that crossed Shizuru's cheeks.

In the meantime, Akira was desperately trying to get rid of the fangirls. "AARGH, NATSUKI!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" At first, she had thought of using her magic. Then she realized it was all she could do just to concentrate on keeping her pants on. Looking out over the crowd of girls, she caught sight of Nao. She managed to mouth a frantic 'help me', before she was pulled down again in to sea of crazed fangirls.

Nao wanted to laugh at Akira's predicament. _**Trust him to come on a date and get attacked by rabid fans.**_ Then it dawned on her. _**Wait a minute, what the hell do they think they're doing with**_** my date!!!** Growling angrily at this late-breaking thought, Nao stomped over and pushed her way through the crowd of girls to Akira. Latching onto the boy's arm, she smiled sweetly at the girls. "Sorry bitches, he's taken." With that, Nao towed Akira off.

* * *

Chie grinned as she watched Akira and Natsuki move off with their individual dates. "And they're off." Smirking, she turned towards her three companions. "Ready?" Mai sighed. "This is so wrong Chie. If Akira finds out we're tailing her, we're dead. Or, at the very least, critically injured and beaten within an inch, no, a millimeter of our short lives." Chie nodded gravely. "I know. And that is why I am not tailing Akira, you are." "What?!" "YAY!! Mikoto's gonna be tailing Akira!!Yup, yup!! This is gonna be so fun, Mai!!" Chie smiled nervously at Mai. "Heh…Mikoto's happy."

Mai's eye twitched, a sure sign that she would soon explode. Hurriedly, Chie grabbed hold of Aoi's hand. "It's all set then. Aoi and I will go after Natsuki. Thanks Mai!" A second later, the two were gone. Mikoto tugged on Mai's shirt hem. "Maaaiii, can we go spy on Akira now?" The redhead sighed in defeat. "Come on Mikoto, let's go spy on Akira's date." "YAY!!" _God forbid if Akira finds out. If he does, we're all doomed…_

Akira sneezed as she walked down the road with Nao. Glaring at a random passerby who had dared to jostle her, she sniffed. Nao looked at her curiously. "What's up? You sick or something?" Akira shook her head. "Nah, I think someone just said my name in vain."

Nao nodded, then grinned slyly as and idea came to her. "Oh, that's good. I wouldn't be able to kiss you if you had a cold." She chuckled as she got the reaction she had expected from the boy. Akira froze mid-walk, then turned and yelled, "LESS TALK MORE WALK!!" Blushing furiously, he stormed off, leaving a chuckling Nao to bring up the rear.

* * *

Natsuki's date was progressing far more…quietly than her friend's. The two just walked along more or less silently. _**Damn, this is bad. At this rate, my plan's gonna fail. **_Chie looked at Aoi sideways. The two had disguised themselves as yet another couple out on a date. "Psst, Aoi. Time for Plan A." Aoi nodded seriously. "Let's do it." The two stalkers immediately grabbed each other's hands and walked past Natsuki and Shizuru while laughing like a pair of escapees from a crazy asylum.

Natsuki watched them go. "Hey, is it just me, or did that guy look a lot like Chie with huge sidies and a mustache." Shizuru frowned slightly as she looked at the couple as well. "It's not you. Do you get the feeling that we're being followed by someone?" Natsuki just looked at the brunette. Shizuru sweat-dropped. "N-Never mind."

Just then, a man came over and grinned at Shizuru. "Hey there beautiful," he said, adopting a serious expression. "I'm gonna have to take you into custody." Shizuru tilted her head to one side. "Ara, whatever for?" The man leered. "Doncha know it's illegal to look this hot?" Shizuru just smiled. Natsuki glared daggers at the man, practically daring him to go on with his cheesy pick-up lines. He wasn't bad-looking but something about him just pissed her off. Apparently, the man was an idiot. Encouraged by Shizuru's slight smile, he went on. "Oh, yeah, heaven called and said they were missing an angel. Mind if I keep you here a little longer?"

Natsuki couldn't stand it anymore. Cracking her knuckles menacingly, she strode forward and kicked him where it hurt before knocking the would-be suitor out. "Idiot, come on Shizuru." Grabbing Shizuru's hand, she led the girl off. To Natsuki's surprise, the girl didn't budge. Turning around, she stared at Shizuru confusedly. "What's wrong?" "Ara, was my Natsuki jealous?" "I WAS NOT!"

Shizuru laced her fingers through Natsuki's and pressed a lingering kiss to the boy's cheek. "Thank you, my Natsuki." Natsuki did several excellent impressions of a goldfish, then settled on doing an impression of a beet. He grunted and tugged slightly on her hand. Shizuru hid a smile behind her hand and held the boy's hand a little tighter. _**Thank you God.**_ Answering to insisting tugs on her hand, she started to walk.

* * *

Akira's eyebrow twitched. Once again, she wished that she could control time instead of wind and shadow. Maybe she would have been able to keep her idiot date away from the Annual Beer-Chugging Competition then. "Hey." Akira yelped at the sudden voice by her ear. Whirling around, she came face-to-face with Midori.

"What are you doing here?" The thief grinned from ear-to-ear and jabbed a thumb at herself. "What do you mean?! I'm the one who organized it in the first place!" She looked rather confused at the glare that was suddenly being directed at her. "What?"

The green-haired girl grabbed Midori by the collar. "You…_YOU _are the reason that…that red-haired, green-eyed _madwoman_ is there making a complete and utter idiot of herself!!!" Sure enough, Nao was completely wasted and spilling beer all over the place. "Well, I'm sure it's not that bad…" Suddenly, a piece of clothing hit Midori in the face. She held it up. Nao's shirt.

Akira's face first paled, then reddened as she looked up at the stand where the competitors were. Nao had started to strip from her position on top of the table. She turned to glare at Midori. "Okay, maybe it is bad," Midori admitted. "But I'm sure that I can stop her." "THEN DO IT!!!!!" "OKAY OKAY!!"

* * *

Kino: Whew, nice to get that down all in one go.

Nao: ….Exactly why am I stripping in front of EVERYONE?!

Kino: (shrugs) It's called fan service. Deal with it.

Nao: I am going to kill you!!!

Natsuki: Count me in!

Kino: (slowly backing up) Wait, why do you want to kill me too?!

Natsuki: You had some creep try to flirt with my Shizuru. That's a good enough reason.

Kino: Sorry people! Gotta go!!! (Running away from angry Natsuki and Nao) And so I live to write another day. See y'all later!


End file.
